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9.3
38965
9.3 |
Paste Magazine
The Shins’ pop sensibilities and Mercer’s stunning way with words shine brighter on this album than ever before
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9.0
38803
9.0 |
musicOMH
These are songs to fall in love to, to grow along with, and to share with friends in need of a life-change. The Shins are back; long live The Shins
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8.4
38904
8.4 |
Pitchfork
A triumphant return from a project that once risked being reduced to an indie-went-mainstream tagline
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8.3
38951
8.3 |
Pretty Much Amazing
The fourth and most potent Shins album
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8.0
39068
8.0 |
State
Not only a decent comeback, but arguably as good as anything that Mercer’s produced yet
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8.0
39203
8.0 |
Rave Magazine
Mercer, the sole constant behind the revolving line-up of the Shins, has once again displayed his formidable skills as a songwriter who is able to marry alluring melodies, hypnotic lyrics and fantastically creative production
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8.0
39489
8.0 |
Loud And Quiet
Fondly reminds us of this band’s inherent ability to create modest beauty from the gleefully simple
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8.0
39713
8.0 |
Blurt
Longtime fans may be disappointed by the bolder sound and what that bodes for its commercial prospects, not to mention the suggestion that this is more a Mercer solo vehicle than a Shins record
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8.0
38823
8.0 |
The Independent
James Mercer, the band's songwriter is rather like the anti-Noel Gallagher, perversely discarding melodies that might seem too obvious in favour of serpentine ones that take the longer, more picturesque route into one's heart
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8.0
38824
8.0 |
The Irish Times
Serves as a taster for summer: guitars twang, electronics swirl and the ghosts of Phil Spector and other durable pop tunesmiths mooch around the attic
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8.0
38813
8.0 |
Evening Standard
Indelible melodies and arresting lyrics
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8.0
38697
8.0 |
Clash
Confirms The Shins as one of the very few bands that can shift truckloads of units without compromising their aesthetic one single iota. A gigantic album
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8.0
38698
8.0 |
Drowned In Sound
Nothing less than both a universal and personal joy to listen to
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8.0
38711
8.0 |
Q
Finds Mercer at his most introspective yet. Print edition only
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8.0
38712
8.0 |
Mojo
The intermesh of emotion and technique is a rare trick to pull in pop, yet The Shins have just made it look easy. Print edition only
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7.5
38908
7.5 |
A.V. Club
There’s enough good to fortify James Mercer’s status as one of the most appealing tunesmiths of his generation
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7.5
38921
7.5 |
Bowlegs
Port of Morrow might not be exactly what Shins fans were hoping for or expecting, but this is still a very addictive, complete album, and sometimes change should be celebrated
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7.0
38713
7.0 |
Uncut
Mercer's real gifts, the melodies that zinged through his early albums, are comparatively subdued
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7.0
38722
7.0 |
The Line Of Best Fit
James Mercer still knows how to write a quirky yet poignant turn of phrase, and his voice continues to caper beautifully around the higher pitched notes
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7.0
38699
7.0 |
BBC
A record with so much clever and excitable beauty, yet strangely disappointing
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7.0
39132
7.0 |
Spin
Port of Morrow is not a full-band effort. And the best songs bear the mark of an auteur weirding out, by himself
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7.0
38958
7.0 |
AU Review
The songs seem designed to release their charms at different rates, meaning that the album’s perceived highlight is always in flux
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7.0
38938
7.0 |
Rolling Stone
Mercer and producer Greg Kurstin send filaments of Sixties and Seventies radio gold and Nineties indie pop through a picturesque psychedelia
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7.0
38907
7.0 |
Slant Magazine
An album to bask in rather than obsess over
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6.9
38940
6.9 |
Beats Per Minute
It’s nice to hear such a talented songwriter working with ease and precision, but it’s just not always that interesting
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6.0
38947
6.0 |
Prefix
A "nice" album; it won't be blowing down anyone's doors
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6.0
39107
6.0 |
No Ripcord
What Mercer has gained in style and execution is overshadowed by the album’s lack of either invention or sincerity
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6.0
39504
6.0 |
The Arts Desk
It's on repeated listens that Mercer's strength as a songwriter takes its rightful place at centre stage
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6.0
38815
6.0 |
The Guardian
Growing up in public is hard to do, and not merely because old friendships tend to fall by the wayside. Port of Morrow just about manages it, which is more than most artists do
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6.0
38762
6.0 |
NME
As Port of Morrow develops it becomes ever more knowingly arena-folk, shedding The Shins' more esoteric edge. Print edition only
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6.0
38922
6.0 |
Consequence Of Sound
Captures Mercer in a different era, and although questionable at times, it’s a fruitful adventure that requires a little swinging and paddling. But you’ll be better off for making the trip
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6.0
38837
6.0 |
The Fly
Introduces a more immediate, glossier sound
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6.0
38890
6.0 |
Independent on Sunday
And the twinkly noises may be laid on thick, but this album never really flies
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6.0
38895
6.0 |
The Observer
There remains something a little clinical about the efficiency with which he dispatches these studies in perky wistfulness
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6.0
38897
6.0 |
The 405
The Shins first came to mass attention for writing songs imbued with subtle poignancy perfect for life’s everyday beauty, Port of Morrow is the mark of a band becoming more-and-more removed from this, shot into the stratosphere by space age production and rock star egos
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4.0
38906
4.0 |
PopMatters
A sleek pop record front to back, something that vies more deliberately for attention than the surprise, Garden State-fueled success of the band’s earlier work
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4.0
39416
4.0 |
Tiny Mix Tapes
Inoffensive new songs
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4.0
38941
4.0 |
God Is In The TV
A record filled with generalities, vagary, blandness and pomp
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