Douglas Mason, The indie invasion of 'Saturday Night Live' continued last night, as resurgent aughts heroes the Shins
dropped by for a pair of songs. The group is readying the release of
its long-awaited fourth album, 'Port of Morrow,' and while frontman
James Mercer has replaced everyone who joined him on 2007's 'Wincing the
Night Away,' he hasn't much changed the sound.
The band opened with the snappy single 'Simple Song,' a fine showcase
for Mercer's falsetto vocals and knack for melody. In the contest to see
which of this season's SNL
guests can look most like your cool high school history teacher -- the
one that let you watch movies most of the time -- Mercer is currently
running a close second to Justin Vernon of Bon Iver. If Lorne Michaels books the National for later in the year, we might have ourselves a three-way race.
The Shins returned for 'It's Only Life,' a soft-rock number with a
life-affirming chorus. If Mercer has altered anything about his
approach, it's his lyrics, which have gone from frustratingly opaque to
borderline cliche. "I've been down every road that you're walking now,"
he sang, sounding more like a self-help guru than a purveyor of
refrigerator-magnet poetry. "It doesn't have to be so dark and
lonesome."