The Brew House

Every Monday morning. Music so good… it must be shared.

This week: “Simple Song” — The Shins, from the album, Port of Morrow.

Somewhere along the line, as the years stacked up, the Shins became one of those bands that “just went away.” The Shins’ last album — Wincing the Night Away — came out in January of 2007 (really, five years ago), with the first single (“Phantom Limb”) finding its way online two months before that. James Mercer, bearded frontman of the Portland outfit, has stayed busy, of course. He collaborated with Danger Mouse on the side project, “Broken Bells”, and you may have seen him pop up for a predictable cameo on the first season of Portlandia.

But finally, on Jan. 9, the band released “Simple Song,” the first single off its new album, Port of Morrow, to be released in March. The band has been idle for five years. And the lineup, save Mercer, has totally turned over. But “Simple Song” still sounds like what you’d expect a Shins single to sound like. And this, I think, is a good thing.