New Shins Album

[DAngerer09]

News about the next Shins album, lineup changes, etc.

 

from Pitchfork:

 

After a long drought of Shins news, here comes the flood. Pitchfork chatted with frontman James Mercer today, and he spilled the beans on the band's recent lineup changes (keyboardist Marty Crandall and drummer Jesse Sandoval aren't in the band), as well as a bunch of exciting projects. There's a new Shins album in the works for Mercer's own Aural Apothecary label, which will also reissue the sole album from the pre-Shins band Flake Music. There's a mysterious collaboraton. There's that movie he's in with Carrie Brownstein, and his contribution to the Danger Mouse/Sparklehorse project Dark Night of the Soul. And finally, there's the film soundtrack Mercer worked on with Modest Mouse...

 

Let's dive right in.

 

When the Shins took the stage at Western Washington University on Saturday night for the first night of their spring tour, fans discovered that the band had changed. Keyboardist Marty Crandall and drummer Jesse Sandoval had been replaced by Ron Lewis from Grand Archives and Fruit Bats on bass and Joe Plummer of Modest Mouse on drums. Crandall, Sandoval, and Mercer had been playing together since their mid-90s Flake Music days, and Mercer decided it was time for a change. "I started to have production ideas that I wanted to do that basically required some other people," he said. "It's mainly about that. It's an aesthetic decision. It's kind of hard to talk abut stuff like that, isn't it? Because I don't want to bum anybody out. I'm on good terms with those guys, I hope to maintain that."

 

He added, "I wouldn't say I'd never work with them again. I love working with those guys." (And in case you're wondering, according to Mercer, Crandall's exit from the Shins didn't have anything to do with that domestic abuse drama from early last year.)

 

To accomplish his new aesthetic goals, Mercer recruited Lewis and Plummer, who are on board for the current tour as well as the next Shins album. That album is still in its very early stages, with Mercer planning to begin recording at the end of the current tour, and continue through the summer. He's aiming for a release early next year.

 

Two songs, "Double Bubble" and "The Rifle's Spiral" are being debuted on the road right now, and Mercer said he has 30 songs in the can. But don't expect to hear much moping around on the new album. "It's a lot more up-tempo stuff," he said. "I haven't really got any real ballad-y stuff right now. I've got 30 songs and none of them are real slow. I think maybe, I'm not so melancholy lately. I'm real happy. I've been lucky in love and I've got a wonderful kid now and things have been going well. Some of the songs are sort of aggressive in a new wave way. I'm excited about it."

 

Mercer thinks that his new material represents some of his best work. "For some reason, it seems like pop writers, it's like they just get worse or something over time. And then you're really jealous of movie directors whose careers seem to grow and they'll be 70 years old and still doing these incredible jobs. I'm going to reverse that, I hope. I think it's just working hard at it and not letting yourself be satisfied with the stuff."

 

The new album will be released on Mercer's own label, Aural Apothecary, possibly with distribution from a larger label, possibly the Shins' former home, Sub Pop. So why not stick with Sub Pop? Why strike out on your own? "Because you get more money," Mercer stated, matter-of-factly. "I mean, it's more work and it's more headache and all that, but I think it'll be worth it in the end."

 

Though Mercer hopes to one day release other artists' music on Aural Apothecary, right now, he only has time for his own work. Before the new Shins album, he plans to re-release Flake Music's 1997 album When You Land Here, It's Time to Return, which has been remixed by Danger Mouse's mixing engineer Kennie Takahashi.

 

In addition to running Aural Apothecary, Mercer also has plenty of other non-Shins extracurricular activities going on. He appears on a track on the forthcoming Dark Night of the Soul album from Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse, which he sounded quite excited about. "The challenge of writing to somebody else's music was really fun...I went in and kind of scatted a melody into existence and with some direction we narrowed it down and then he did some editing and got the melody there and then I wrote lyrics to it. It just came out real cool. I was really stoked. If David Lynch is involved it's just rad, you know?"

 

Mercer is also working on another side project...which shall remain shrouded in mystery, at least for now. "I'm kind of not supposed to talk about it," he said. "Both the label and the person I collaborated with are like, "we should chill," so I'm not going to talk about that." Ooh...tantalizing!

 

However, one collaboration with another famous indie band that he would talk about was a film soundtrack he worked on with Modest Mouse. It's for the film 180 Degrees South, a documentary by surfing filmmakers the Malloy Brothers. Mercer explained, "Early last spring I went to Chile with a production company that was doing a documentary about a guy who travels to Chile and he runs in with these people who are doing some environmental work down there. So I was invited to come down to Chile while they were filming it because they thought that I might be able to write some music for it. I worked with Isaac Brock on it. We just kind of watched footage after I came back and got inspired and we put together some music."

 

In addition to Brock, Mercer worked on the soundtrack with Modest Mouse members Plummer, Eric Judy, and Tom Peloso. Mercer described the soundtrack as, "Definitely more soundscapes. I did a lot of acoustic guitar work, Isaac did some electric guitar, Eric Judy has like an accordion thing he was doing and of course playing bass, and then violin." You can hear a snippet of the mostly instrumental soundtrack in the film's trailer here.

 

As previously reported, Mercer is co-starring alongside Sleater-Kinney's Carrie Brownstein in a feature film, Some Days Are Better Than Others, directed by Portland experimental filmmaker Matt McCormick."That was really fun and I guess kind of scary, but really, really fun," Mercer said of the experience. "I took acting lessons and everything. I've never acted before...It was a challenge. I had that feeling of accomplishment when you take on something you're a little bit scared to do. It seemed to work out pretty well. I've seen a little bit of it and it's not embarrassing for me to watch. Which is saying something."

The Shins tour dates:

 

05-06 Portland, OR - Crystal Ballroom

05-07 Portland, OR - Crystal Ballroom

05-09 Oakland, CA - Fox Theater

05-10 Los Angeles, CA - Hollywood Palladium

05-11 San Diego, CA - SOMA

05-13 Richmond, VA - The National

05-14 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club

05-15 Baltimore, MD - Ram's Head Live

05-16 Philadelphia, PA - Electric Factory

05-17 Montclair, NJ - Wellmont Theater

05-18 New York, NY - Terminal Five

[hardwood floor]

interesting stuff

 

i never felt that the keys fit into what the shins were doing live. always thought they held 'em back

 

so i'm curious to see how they sound this time around

[mechanical_bird]

Kinda sad to see Marty and Jesse go. I don't know the new bassist (although Grand Archives are great). Joe Plummer is a fantastic drummer and has really added to Modest Mouse's live sound over the past few years. It should be interesting, and I'm looking forward to the album.

[solace]

Marty has always annoyed me (dude talks WAY too much), so i'm fine with that...

 

really hope James steps it up with album #4, i was not big on the last one minus 3-4 songs.

[explodo]

really hope James steps it up with album #4, i was not big on the last one minus 3-4 songs.

I had completely forgotten that record existed. I kept thinking Chutes Too Narrow was their last record.

[mpolak21]

I had completely forgotten that record existed. I kept thinking Chutes Too Narrow was their last record.

 

Yeah me too. I am sure I listened to it at some point, but I can't remember any of the songs on it. I loved Oh, Inverted World and Chutes Too Narrow, but it's been awhile since I've felt compelled to listen to them again.

 

--Mike.

[Panther]

Yeah me too. I am sure I listened to it at some point, but I can't remember any of the songs on it. I loved Oh, Inverted World and Chutes Too Narrow, but it's been awhile since I've felt compelled to listen to them again.

 

--Mike.

 

The Shins are soo 03 ... I will listen to the new record and they had there relevence at one point but there as relevent as Death Cab these days

[hardwood floor]

The Shins are soo 03 ... I will listen to the new record and they had there relevence at one point but there as relevent as Death Cab these days

 

what does relevant mean? relevant to who? and who is deciding that?

 

i dig the shins, have always dug the shins, and i'm not going to decide what i want to listen to based on what is "in" or out or based on what some smirking hipster pitchfork asshole tells me is cool right now or isn't cool

 

relevant? either it's good or it ain't good ... who cares beyond that?

[OOO]

Same deal here. Loved the first two, liked some of the stuff on the third one but mostly meh, hoping for better this time around.

[lost highway]

Same deal here. Loved the first two, liked some of the stuff on the third one but mostly meh, hoping for better this time around.

 

[Killer Whales]

Relevant or not, I'm listening to Chutes Too Narrow now, and God is it good. Not many records being made these days that sound like this. The 3rd record definitely had some gems, but was quite a letdown.

[jakobnicholas]

The Shins first album was so odd and unique and great. It sounded like something that they may not top, and I don't think they'll be able to.

 

I like Chutes Too Narrow also. Saint Simon is amazing.

 

 

 

Heard "They'll Soon Discover" off the Spongebob Soundtrack? It would fit nicely on Chutes. Very good song.

[nodep5]

for me the Shins are the perfect example of what can be wrong with indie rock. In theory they should be awesome and don't get me wrong (I own everything they have made & they have some sweet tunes) but in the end it leaves me kind of ambivalent. Almost without feeling, meh, blah. I feel this way with bands like The Shins, Spoon, Death Cab, etc if you are following me. It sometimes is style over substance, the style being hip in a musicology way and hip in a melodic way, but lyrics and songs that leave you feeling a little blank. No? Am I off base?

[lamradio]

for me the Shins are the perfect example of what can be wrong with indie rock. In theory they should be awesome and don't get me wrong (I own everything they have made & they have some sweet tunes) but in the end it leaves me kind of ambivalent. Almost without feeling, meh, blah. I feel this way with bands like The Shins, Spoon, Death Cab, etc if you are following me. It sometimes is style over substance, the style being hip in a musicology way and hip in a melodic way, but lyrics and songs that leave you feeling a little blank. No? Am I off base?

 

I can dig. They have definitely been one of those bands for me, along with MMJ. I like them, I'll pop in there CD every once in a while, but there's just something missing.

[OOO]

I can dig. They have definitely been one of those bands for me, along with MMJ. I like them, I'll pop in there CD every once in a while, but there's just something missing.

 

If its any consolation, you're less wrong about the Shins than you are about MMJ.

 

[GtrPlyr]

what does relevant mean? relevant to who? and who is deciding that?

 

i dig the shins, have always dug the shins, and i'm not going to decide what i want to listen to based on what is "in" or out or based on what some smirking hipster pitchfork asshole tells me is cool right now or isn't cool

 

relevant? either it's good or it ain't good ... who cares beyond that?

Agreed!

 

Good music is good music, it doesn't have an expiration date like a carton of milk. I've never understood this idea of music being put out to pasture when it is no longer considered fashionable. Music is about melody, lyrics, passion, and how all that makes you feel. There's no reason why something that moved you 4 years ago should no longer do so because it has a dated keyboard on it, or some other trivial nonsense.

[jff]

I'm glad people are finally willing to admit that Wincing the Night Away is a weak Shins album. It seemed like there was a gag order, or something, even though it is clearly not even close to as good as their first two.

[lamradio]

you're less wrong about the Shins than you are about MMJ.

 

 

Oh am I? Do you have any hard facts to base your assertion on?

 

kidding..

[nodep5]

If its any consolation, you're less wrong about the Shins than you are about MMJ.

 

 

I agree, I wouldn't lump MMJ in with this group (thanks for feeling my pain though). I think MMJ has a that extra factor that these bands don't. That is subjective though.

 

My wife's new put down when I bring home some new music is often, "That sounds like the Shins or whatever music out there that has no feeling to it"

 

According to my wife: Wilco Yes, Ryan Adams Yes, Avetts Yes, Shins or Rilo Kiley NO NO NO

[lamradio]

I agree, I wouldn't lump MMJ in with this group (thanks for feeling my pain though). I think MMJ has a that extra factor that these bands don't. That is subjective though.

 

I hate turning a Shins thread into a MMJ thread but to me, MMJ is a band that flat out Rocks, they know how to put on a great show, and one or two of their tunes rank as some of my favorite tunes of all time. However, they leave a lot to desire lyrically, the overall songwriting seems a little lazy at times, and their latest album was very weak in my opinion. So they fall into this catagory, at least for me.

[tangara]

Yeah, but MMJ more than makes up for any lyrical or structural shortcomings in their songs with their face-melting live show. The Shins...not so much.

 

(And I liked the Shins live; always enjoyed Marty's banter, that big jerk).

[MattZ]

MMJ certainly rocks, but MMJ doesn't/hasn't/can't write a perfect pop song. Which isn't to say that one is better than the other. The Shins certainly don't rock. But there's nothing about the first two Shins albums that leaves me wanting. As someone said above, Saint Simon is just about perfect. So is Pink Bullets, etc.

 

And I hate to say this, because I hate to sound like a judgmental prick, but when i saw the Shins live a couple of times and then heard the 3rd album, it occurred to me that the band had peaked with this lineup, and that Mercer was being held back by the other guys in the band. They just added absolutely nothing to the equation (so far as I could see). I am not surpsied that it happened, and I think this is the best chance that album #4 is a step forward.

[Guest Jules]

I love Chutes Too Narrow.

[lamradio]

Saint Simon is just about perfect.

 

This is very true. It's the first Shins song I ever heard. They played it live on a NPR show, I think it was "all songs considered". Beautiful vocal melodies in that song.

[hardwood floor]

Yeah, but MMJ more than makes up for any lyrical or structural shortcomings in their songs with their face-melting live show. The Shins...not so much.

 

(And I liked the Shins live; always enjoyed Marty's banter, that big jerk).

 

I know I'm in the minority on this, but I prefer the Shins' live show to My Morning Jacket's.

 

First time I saw either one of them I saw them on the same bill. My Morning Jacket had explosive energy and little else. Their show rang hollow after a while because the songs just weren't there. It was just a bunch of guys jumping around and howling. Got old quickly. I understand a lot of people dig them. I don't.

 

Shins just kind of stood there and played, but they had songs. Great ones. For me, that's the ultimate measuring stick.