The Shins – Port of Morrow

Having shed all but one of their original line-up, The Shins' long-awaited follow up to 2007’s Wincing the Night Away is rather more of a musical manifesto for frontman James Mercer than any collective vision. This, of course, should be no bad thing, given his delivery of three critically and commercially successful albums to date, in addition to a recent fruitful foray with Danger Mouse under their Broken Bells banner.

Port of Morrow largely makes the mark; the likes of Bait and Switch and Fall of ’82 smirk with the cheeky assignations of the band's earlier work, whilst the sophisticated 40 Mark Strasse and For a Fool almost exceed expectations, languishing amidst a swirl of rich instrumentation. Though perhaps the most noticeable aspect of this release is Mercer’s willingness to embrace a more mainstream approach to production with the assistance of prolific pop guru Greg Kurstin; it’s this ultra-polished sheen, rather than the solid selection of tracks on offer here, that might divide their fanbase.