James Mercer is The Shins. The indie rock veteran and only consistent member of the band since its inception, Mercer has maintained a rotating cast of bandmates since recording Wincing the Night Away in 2007. Even with a bunch of new faces in the band, Mercer has chosen to keep recording under The Shins moniker, a testament to his influence as the sole driving force behind the band’s stylistic choices. On their latest record, Heartworms, it feels like Mercer is looking for a new direction for his music and ends up unable to figure out which way is north. Certain songs satisfy, but others feel half-baked.
To his credit, Heartworms does a great job of showing off Mercer’s wide variety of influences and his status as a top-class songwriter and arranger. The album careens wildly between psych-rock (“Painting A Hole”), folk (“Mildenhall”), and even synth-pop (“Cherry Hearts”). Despite the disparity in styles, the album is still paced well, and some of its best songs are the result of these experiments in approach. Standout track “Cherry Hearts” features a goofy synth riff that matches the playful nature of the song, and “Half A Million” uses inventive vocal layering reminiscent of Of Montreal to support a great chorus. Unfortunately, too many of these ideas are just sketches without enough development to make them strong songs. “So Now What” relies on basically a single vocal melody, and Mercer’s usually strong voice falters and can’t carry it. Other songs on the album’s second half, such as “Rubber Ballz” and “Dead Alive” sound like filler tracks that need additional sharpening and massaging to make them engaging.
Twists and turns aside, this is still a Shins album, and longtime fans of the band may be relieved to hear that the album isn’t all about wearing as many hats as possible. There are plenty of callbacks to its vintage sound throughout, most notably on album opener/lead single “Name For You” and the title track. The former features a thrilling vocal performance from Mercer, whose signature singing style carries the song along with a guitar line that you can’t help but tap along to. “Heartworms,” on the other hand, is subdued yet strangely cathartic, as Mercer wonders aloud what he can do to salvage a relationship gone awry.
Lyrically, the album is full of self-reflection, and Mercer has never been so transparent about his own personal struggles and feelings. On “Fantasy Island,” Mercer croons (somewhat oxymoronically), “I don’t want to show you my feelings / I don’t want to force you to deal.” On “Half A Million,” he straightforwardly sings about how he uses songwriting as an outlet when things get overwhelming. Meanwhile, “Mildenhall” is basically the origin story for Mercer’s musical career, as he recalls his brief stay in the UK as a teenager, fighting boredom by listening to The Jesus and Mary Chain tapes and picking up the guitar for the first time.
Despite a few missteps, Heartworms is a solid record with enough variety to keep things interesting and enough references to the classic Shins sound to keep fans of the band content. Personally, I would have preferred if Mercer took some of the stronger ideas and expounded on them to make a more cohesive album. If you’re new to the band, this probably isn’t the right place to start listening, but it’s a worthy addition to The Shins’ veritable catalog.
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