comebacks

Oh, By the Way, The Shins Are Back

Back in the day, bands would break apart for seemingly innocuous reasons, promising to return after a spot of vacation — and then never be heard from again. These days, though, it seems like everyone’s always getting back together again, even when you actually thought they wouldn’t. And the next act following the likes of TV on the Radio and The Strokes is … The Shins! Even though they never officially broke up or anything, they weren’t a super likely contender for reconstitution: First front man James Mercer fired keyboardist Marty Crandall and drummer Jesse Sandoval for “aesthetic” reasons, and then he took some time to put out an album, as Broken Bells, with Danger Mouse. You’d think Mercer’s next step in that trajectory would be a solo project, right? Nope! Today, SPIN points our attention to recent footage of The Shins performing a new song at a benefit in Portland; also, the band has announced their first live show, at San Francisco’s Outside Lands Festival in August, since the hiatus. Then again, we suppose firing most of your band and hiring dudes who will presumably fall in line is as close as it gets to doing a solo project without actually doing a solo project — but, hey, technically, the Shins are back! [SPIN]

Oh, By the Way, The Shins Are Back