The Shins

Singer-songwriter James Mercer's accomplished US alt.popsters – who formed in 1996 as his side project, then assumed very much a life of their own – return for the first time since 2007, with 'Port of Morrow' (Columbia), their fourth album and first in over four years. Lead single, 'Simple Song' is typically irresistible, a lustrous and sweet, singalong charmer, but adds brilliantly unexpected notes of widdly, prog-ish guitar that tilt the blueprint nicely. 'The American Crowded House', some have suggested, bu there's no shame in that.