The Shins 'Port Of Morrow' Receives Cautious Praise From Critics

The Shins have made their major label debut on Columbia with fourth album 'Port Of Morrow,' after making a huge breakthrough with their third 'Wincing The Night Away' on Sub-Pop almost five years ago. That album reached number two on the US Billboard Charts and anticipation has been high regarding the band's return, the Albuquerque-based group traditionally a critics' favorite.
However this time round the praise isn't quite so uniform, with the site Metacritic totting up an average mark of 71 per cent for the new album. Music Omh give the album its highest score, a 9/10, stating "These are songs to fall in love to, to grow along with, and to share with friends in need of a life-change," whilst of the larger publications in print and online, Pitchfork too are complimentary of the album, claiming "Port of Morrow doesn't sound like it belongs to any particular decade or style, instead hopping around like some fully loaded AM radio dial that cranks out gem after gem."NME aren't quite as impressed, slapping a 6/10 on the LP and saying "Even if the Mensa-folk crew feel dumbed down on, there's just enough Mercer magic on Morrow to light up your local drop-in centre," with the Guardian too not hugely overwhelmed when stating "If it's not an album to turn the listener into a screaming proselyte, there's still enough magic to make it worthwhile." The album was released this week.