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THE SHINS
"Port of Morrow"
THE GRADE B
BOTTOM LINE Easy-listening rock that's a little too easy
The Shins' fourth album, "Port of Morrow" (Columbia), isn't groundbreaking. It's nice.
That shouldn't really be a problem, though in the superlative-filled world of today's indie rock, where everything apparently is the best ever or horrifyingly bad, it may be. Head Shin James Mercer's perfectionist persona may also take a hit because, well, this ain't perfect.
"Port of Morrow" starts encouragingly enough with the intensely poetic "The Rifles Spiral" and the first single, "Simple Song," which is anything but. The way "Simple Song" combines '60s Motown rhythms, '70s rock bombast, '90s alt-rock dynamics and a current lyrical sensibility shows how exceptional...