Shins Unveil 'Simple Song,' Preview Long-Awaited Fourth Album

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In the half-decade since the last Shins album, singer James Mercer has parted company with every member of the 2007 lineup, recorded an album with Danger Mouse and even done a bit of acting. Clearly, a lot has changed, but now that the band is streaming the brand-new 'Simple Song' (listen below), it seems one thing remains the same: Mercer still isn't writing simple songs.

Taken from 'Port of Morrow,' the band's long-awaited fourth album, 'Simple Song' is classic Shins: catchy yet convoluted. This one's a little less ambiguous than, say, 'Phantom Limb,' the lead-off single from 2007's 'Wincing the Night Away,' but even as Mercer seemingly aims for straightforward statements about love and hope, he can't resist the urge to get a little weird.

"When I was just 9 years old, I swear that I dreamt your face on a football field," he sings early on, "and a kiss that I kept under my vest, apart from everything but the heart in my chest."