The Shins (Photo courtesy Columbia Records)
Beloved indie rockers The Shins returned with Heartworms, their fifth studio album, on Columbia Records in March. James Mercer and his bandmates are now touring to commemorate the new album with a stop at The Anthem on Thursday, Nov. 2.
With Heartworms, James take The Shins home. The band’s last album, Port of Morrow, debuted at #3 on the Billboard Top 200 and received a Grammy nomination. But James sought to make this album more personal, once again writing the album and producing all of the tracks (except for “So Now What,” which got a lift from Richard Swift).
Watch the official music video for “Cherry Hearts,” the most recent video release from Heartworms, by The Shins on YouTube:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XswVWE0Jq84]
In writing Heartworms, James drew fictional character sketches (“Fantasy Island,” “Rubber Ballz”), rendered autobiographical accounts (“Mildenhall”), and amplified a call for female empowerment from his three daughters (“Name for You.”) These efforts turned out an album that sounds much like The Shins but also something new.
Joining James on this world tour are The Shins bandmates Yuuki Matthews (bass), Jon Sortland (drums), Mark Watrous (guitar, keys, vocals), Casey Foubert (guitar), and Patti King (keys).
The Shins
w/ Baio
The Anthem
Thursday, Nov. 2
Doors @ 6:30pm
$40/$75
All ages