The Shins have finished recording their fifth studio album, according to frontman James Mercer in an interview with KBOO 90.7 in Portland. According to Mercer, the album will arrive “early next year” — possibly in January 2017.
“I’m really excited about this record… I think we’ve got something that Shins fans will really love, and I think there’s some other things on there that are different enough. I made a concerted effort on certain songs to fit the palette, to use the palette that I’ve used historically for the band,” Mercer said. “I think it’s really strong. I think lyrically, I’m better than I ever was. And I think my songwriting is stronger than it ever was.” Hear Mercer discuss the follow-up to 2012’s Port of Morrow below around the 21:19 mark. [h/t Consequence of Sound]
