Arriving five years after
Wincing the Night Away
,
Port of Morrow
was the first
Shins
album to appear on
James Mercer
's
Aural Apothecary
imprint (also home to
Broken Bells
, his collaboration with
Danger Mouse
) and the first without the rest of the band that appeared on the remainder of their discography. Instead,
Mercer
assembled a revolving cast of supporting performers that included
Modest Mouse
Joe Plummer
Crystal Skulls
'
Yuuki Matthews
, drummer-at-large
Janet Weiss
, and producer
Greg Kurstin
, who gives the album a big, radio-friendly sound. There's no pretense of democracy nor of being "indie" here, things that might be easier to decry if these weren't some of
's best songs since
Chutes Too Narrow
. Though there's no core band,
feels more focused than
even as
departs from
the Shins
' classic sound. "The Rifle's Spiral" begins the album with keyboards that bounce and bubble everywhere, suggesting some of
' influence has rubbed off, but the contrast between sweet vocals and barbed words ("you were always to be a dagger floating straight to their heart") that has been a key element since
Oh, Inverted World
is present and accounted for. Later, "Simple Song" feels downright triumphant, with big, airy bridges, a surprising minor-key chord change, and frantic guitar solos all coated in pop gloss.
goes farther afield as
progresses, flirting with '70s soft rock on "For a Fool," while the title track is equal parts trippy and torchy, pairing a slinky falsetto with some of the album's most arresting imagery ("there are flowers in the garbage and a skull under your curls"). Consciously or not,
channels classic singer/songwriters and members of famed bands gone solo on some of
's highlights: "Fall of '82" is as wordy, bouncy, and catchy as
Billy Joel
at his peak, while "It's Only Life"'s charming melody and message to take it easy make it the distant cousin of
John Lennon
's "Watching the Wheels." Enough of the album finds
expanding and experimenting that when "Bait and Switch," which sounds like a lost
track transplanted to much fancier digs, or the
-like rumination "September" pops up, it's almost startling. These are some of
's most wide-ranging songs with any of his projects, to the point where it might be a little disingenuous to call this a
album, and slightly disappointing for any fans who had invested in them being a band rather than a
vehicle. Questions of semantics and authenticity aside,
's songs are compelling enough to keep most fans listening and enjoying. ~ Heather Phares