The Shins quirky, intellectual brand of pop is infectious. Mercer's melodies are nothing if not catchy, and the music's got a mostly uplifting tone with a sharp kick. No doubt, that voice is some kind of perfect. So it was to many fans delight that their set Tuesday night was chock-full of crowd-pleasers in what felt like rapid fire. The haste was slightly off-putting, but I was left with an appreciation for how many fantastic songs The Shins have written over the years.
Regardless, The Shins have consistently bright, palatable, and neatly packaged songs mostly registering under the 4 minute-mark. So it's with some irony that the pinnacle of the set was also the heaviest song of the night. The title track off their new album, Port of Morrow, really resonated because unlike the other songs performed that evening they jammed on it a bit, played with some distortion, and eased into a so-quiet-you-could-hear-a-pin-drop version of "New Slang".
It was a truly beautiful moment that made it all worthwhile. And I thought: Is there a responsibility that comes with writing a song like that? I felt there was, but am not sure how else to explain it.
Check out the playlist of their set from that night, if you're a fan you'll enjoy that it's stocked with several favorites.
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