Port of Morrow - The Shins
User Score
7.6 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 59 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 53 out of 59
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 59
  3. Negative: 2 out of 59

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  1. MediaboyMusings
    Apr 9, 2012
    3
    My very limited knowledge of The Shins prior to watching them on Saturday Night Live a few weeks back was that they were the object of affection from Natalie Portman's character in the movie Garden State, where she proclaimed the band would "change your life, I swear". Their music in the film failed to have any such life-changing impact on me and other than thinking their name was pretty awful, I never paid much more attention, relegating them to the bin of undesirable hipster music that normally clashes with my own musical sensibilities (The Black Keys have recently taken up permanent residence there).
    The Shins' first SNL performance was "Simple Song", the first single from their new Port Of Morrow album. I was immediately drawn in by its ultra-hooky melodies, even while being completely turned off by the band's dull performance style and massively unappealing visual aspect. Other than animated drummer Joe Plummer (I like the ones that really attack their kits), there was just a real lack of stage presence and showmanship, combined with a drab wardrobe style that appears to have been significantly influenced by high school guidance counsellors, coffee house baristas, and playground flashers. The latter reference is to creepy overcoat-wearing keyboardist Richard Swift - somebody should also really tell him the Phil Lynott-style coif was a terrible idea. This aesthetic deficiency would also appear to extend to The Shins' album art, as you can clearly tell by the butt-ugly Port Of Morrow cover; the covers for Shins album one, two, and three are no better. Am I being overly shallow about all of this? Probably, but pardon me for expecting a little more in a rock group's visual presentation. So now that I've mostly crapped all over this Portland-based band, consisting of an almost entirely new lineup after frontman and lead singer/guitarist James Mercer fired the rest of the previous members, is their first album in five years any good? Not really. "Simple Song" is a stark anomaly on an otherwise mostly forgettable collection of songs that are rooted in a late 60s-era pop sensibility heavy on melodies; despite that influence, though, they also still manage to somehow feel mopey and depressing. I actually found the "Simple Song" versus-the-rest-of-the-album juxtaposition pretty fascinating - Mercer's great voice, a great drum performance, some killer hooks, and an interestingly wonky guitar line over the verses add up to one of the best songs I've heard in the past year, with a sound that instantly reminded me of The Who's poppier side circa the late 70s/early 80s. After that, however, the pickings are extremely slim, with only the catchy "No Way Down" and the ambitious "It's Only Life" making it to even a "decent" categorization. Album opener "The Rifle's Spiral" has more of an edge than most of the rest of the material, but can't fight its way past a one-dimensional song structure and "Bait And Switch" has a bossa nova/Santana feel that just feels out of place. Everything else on the album is slow, dreary pop-folk that should please the shoegazer crowd.
    Next album around, I'll sample what The Shins are selling, based purely on the strength of that one great track. Unfortunately, the rest of Port Of Morrow works as little more than a great justification for illegal downloading.    … Expand
  2. wolfbag
    Apr 19, 2012
    3
    I'd have to disagree with j30...I found it an album I looked forward to for months and found hugely disappointing. "Wincing..." still gets regular plays after years of listening, but this? I've made myself listen to this on and off for about 2 weeks, hoping for something, but its just fairly insipid in the main. That would be reasonable, but there are a number of songs which make me want to turn it off immediately. This is mainly due to lyrics (e.g. the first use of the term "ducks in a row" outside of a business meeting full of chubby guys in chinos, or that stuff about dishwater disguised as lemonade) but there are also some musical moments where they seem to be striving for some kind of MOR-type appeal (maybe those chubby guys at the meeting? "Hey Chet, great slides, have you heard of the Shins, they're this new band..."). There are a few decent tunes, Simple Song stands out but I'm already getting a little sick of it. One review I read described it as music made especially for people in their late 30s who still want to feel a bit cool. The reviewer meant it as a good thing, and yeah I'd fall into that category but that statement kind of sums up how it sounds to me.… Expand

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
72 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 43 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 27 out of 43
  2. Mixed: 16 out of 43
  3. Negative: 0 out of 43
  1. Delusions of Adequacy
    Jul 11, 2012
    90
    With Port of Morrow Mercer digs deep in forming a polished and almost, muscular relationship with the music.
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  2. Under The Radar
    Jul 9, 2012
    40
    An aesthetically perfect long play er that dithers in the background. [Jun 2012, p.155]
  3. cokemachineglow
    May 7, 2012
    55
    "Bait and Switch," the best song on Port of Morrow, recaptures some of this eager, joyful glee; but in my opinion, the rest of the album holds none of these virtues.
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