[WillWill1989]

What does everyone think of The Shins new album Port Of Morrow?

I think its not too bad so far. I've listened to it a bit more than I had expected i would. Still growing on me though.
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In an interstellar burst.... I am back to save the universe

[Hayden]

I think it was pretty decent 80/100

The Rifle's Spiral & Fall of '82 were my favourites

The Shins have an unfortunate habit of sounding the same every track, and I found they fell into the same loop this time around...
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Doubles & Conch

[Kiki]

I really like Simple Song I'll have to try the album

[CellarDoor]

Disappointed.

I didn't like "Simple Song" and I don't think it was a good choice as a single as there are better tracks on the album.

However, I won't be listening to this much.
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[pearljammer13]

One of my all time favorite bands. I pre ordered the cd and it hasn't come in yet so I haven't listened start to finished. I have however heard almost every song at least once. Bait and Switch is awesome, as is September. A couple other songs that I only listened to once were a little disappointing, but I'm not making any real judgement until I've listened to the album 5 or 6 times straight through. I hope it comes in for me tomorrow.

It's gotten pretty good reviews from what I've read, and a couple great ones.

[Necharsian]

I actually really enjoyed it on first listen! Hopefully it holds up after more listens.

[pearljammer13]

Finally got my copy in the mail today. Only listened to it once through so far. Too early to have a fully formed opinion, but after one time through my immediate reaction is it's just a little too slow for me. I really enjoyed the first half, but the second half kind of dragged towards the end. There weren't any terrible songs, but there were only maybe 3 or 4 that I thought were great right away. On the first 3 albums I thought there were at least 6 or 7 great songs right away.

Time will tell what I end up thinking about it, but right now I think it's good not great, and not on the level of the first 3. Pains me to say that.

[WillWill1989]

Yeah, i love Port of Morow, Pariah King (bonus song), 40 mark strasse, No Way Down.

This album is not as loud as their early ones though! that is for sure!
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In an interstellar burst.... I am back to save the universe

[Chemical Smile]

Have it on order, so fingers crossed. From what i've read over here (england) it's their 'commercial album', but gained good reviews nonetheless. Aside from VH's album, this will so far be my only other 2012 album that i've listened to...
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"Bunch of opinionated, hipster twats!"

[pearljammer13]

I'm a firm believer that you can't truly judge an album until you've listened to it at least once all the way through with NO other distractions...no computer, no driving, no reading, etc. I just did that for the first time with Port Of Morrow, and I must say it's better than what I thought after the first couple listens. It's been growing on me all week, and it just climbed another rung on my opinion ladder.

I do however have 3 minor issues with it. Although it's not nearly as formulaic as I originally thought, it does fall into the typical song structure a few too many times. The second half has grown a ton on me, but it's still just a tad too slow. And lyrically, it isn't quite as full of the depth and quirkiness of the first 3 albums, although flashes of it are clearly still there. "And love is the ink in the well when her body writes" is one of those brilliantly clever lines James Mercer is known for. And "No Way Down" has almost a "So Says I" feel with the politically flavored eccentric and brainy lyrics. A few songs are a bit too cliche lyrically though, which is unheard of for Mercer.

But overall this album is quite good, and I never really have the urge to skip a song. The middle section is by far my favorite. "Bait and Switch", "September", and "No Way down" are all amazing songs. September has grown immensely on me, reminds me of Young Pilgrims just a tiny bit, which is one of my favorite Shins songs. I like how they've still held onto their sound so you know it's them, yet have managed to expand it and try some new things to keep it fresh.

Overall I'd give it a solid 8-8.5. I still like the first 3 more (Chutes Too Narrow:10, Oh, Inverted World: 9.5, Wincing The Night Away: 9), but all 3 of them are in my top 50 so I'm not surprised by that. Might make my top 100 eventually.

Sorry for being so damn wordy, I'm just a huge Shins fan and dedicate a ton of time to their music.