James Mercer Says His Next Project is a New Shins Album
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The post James Mercer Says His Next Project is a New Shins Album appeared first on Consequence.
James Mercer has confirmed that he’s working on a fresh batch of songs which may become The Shins’ first new album since 2017’s Heartworms.
The confirmation came in an interview on a new episode of The Story Behind the Song, in which Mercer revealed that at least 17 songs are in the works for his next project.
“September, I’m going to buckle down,” Mercer told host Peter Csathy. “I’ve got a bunch of songs. I think it was 17 songs that are partially-recorded already. So, I’m always working on something. I’m always fiddling with the guitar and searching for those moments, you know? So, I’ve got a bunch of stuff. And I don’t know how long it’ll take, but I’ll start in September, and I’ll do another Shins record.”
The new record would be the sixth studio album from The Shins, and follows a period of reflection for the band. Last year, they embarked on a 21st anniversary tour for their debut album, Oh, Inverted World. Then, earlier this year, they announced that they would celebrate the 20th anniversary of their sophomore album, Chutes Too Narrow, with a deluxe reissue of the record (available on October 20th, with pre-orders ongoing).
Elsewhere in the interview on TSBTS, Mercer reminisced on those early days of The Shins, and offered some insight onto two of the band’s biggest hits: “New Slang” and “Phantom Limb.” Speaking about the latter track, Mercer explained that it was inspired by the band’s one-time bassist, Neal Langford, who passed away this past July.
When asked about the genesis of the song — which tells the story of a young lesbian couple — Mercer replied, “Neal Langford, the guy that got me on stage and everything — he had struggled his whole life because he was closeted, and I think it really hurt him. So, I was very sensitive to that issue, I guess, because of that.”
Continuing, Mercer spoke about how difficult it was to lose Langford. “After Oh, Inverted World, he had kind of spiraled into addiction stuff,” he said, getting choked. “And, um… I’m sorry, it’s, uh, but he had just really struggled, so that was there, you know? It’s just so recent. But it’s just… he struggled for a long time, and we always were trying to turn it around, but you know it just didn’t happen, I guess.”
To hear more from Mercer about new music, his relationship with Langford, the nitty-gritty of writing The Shins’ hits, and more, check out the full episode of The Story Behind the Song below.
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James Mercer Says His Next Project is a New Shins Album
Jo Vito
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