Heartworms LP

Album Details

he Shins present their fifth studio effort, Heartworms. In contrast to 2012's Port of Morrow, which debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard Top 200 and was nominated for a Best Alternative Album Grammy, Heartworms ushers in a return to the handmade. The 11-track collecion was, as always, entirely written by James Mercer, with exception of "So Now What" (produced by band member Richard Swift). Heartworms is the first Shins album to be largely self-produced by Mercer since Oh, Inverted World in 2001. Heartworms also boasts Mercer's most diverse lyrical ptalette to date, a cohesive, yet genre defying album marked by the frontman's distinct voice and melodic composition. Unified by his singular vision, Mercer creates a sound that is both a nostalgic nod to the album's predecessors and distinctly new. The album's first single, "Name For You," is a resounding call for female empowerment inspired by his three daughters.