Heartworms Released March 10, 2017 Recorded Nov–Dec 2013 ("So Now What"), June 2015 – June 2016 Genre
Length 41 :44 Label Columbia Producer James Mercer
"Dead Alive" Released: October 26, 2016
"Name for You" Released: January 5, 2017
"Half a Million" Released: June 13, 2017[ 3]
"Cherry Hearts" Released: October 31, 2017[ 4]
Heartworms is the fifth studio album by American rock band the Shins , released by Columbia Records on March 10, 2017—the band's first studio album in five years.[ 5] It was produced by James Mercer ,[ 6] with the exception of "So Now What", which was produced by former band member Richard Swift .[ 6] The album art is based on the Japanese Ukiyo-e triptych Takiyasha the Witch and the Skeleton Spectre .
Reception
Overall, Heartworms received positive reviews from critics. On Metacritic , which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, it has an average score of 73, based on twenty reviews.[ 7]
Accolades
Track listing
All tracks are written by James Mercer
Title 1. "Name for You" 3:09 2. "Painting a Hole" 4:44 3. "Cherry Hearts" 3:33 4. "Fantasy Island" 4:46 5. "Mildenhall" 3:19 6. "Rubber Ballz" 3:17 7. "Half a Million" 3:23 8. "Dead Alive" 3:34 9. "Heartworms" 2:56 10. "So Now What " 3:38 11. "The Fear" 5:25
Personnel
Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.[ 17]
The Shins
James Mercer – vocals, guitar (all tracks); bass (1, 2, 7–9, 11), synthesizers (3, 4, 6, 7), percussion (5, 8), chord organ (5, 11), ukulele, harmonica (11)
Joe Plummer – drums (1, 4, 6–10)
Yuuki Matthews – synthesizers (1–9, 11), drums (3), percussion (3, 5, 6), bass (4, 6, 10)
Mark Watrous – guitar (1, 4, 8), piano (1, 8, 9), strings (4, 11), kalimba (4), bass synth (5), castanets (6)
Jon Sortland – drums (2)
Richard Swift – synthesizers, Mellotron (4, 6, 10); drums (4), percussion (4, 10)
Additional musicians
Chris Funk – guitar, dulcimer (2); baritone guitar (11)
Steve Drizos – percussion (2)
Technical
James Mercer – production (1–9, 11)
Richard Swift – production (10)
Yuuki Matthews – mixing
Brian Lucey – mastering
Jacob Escobedo – artwork, design
Charts
The Worm's Heart
In December 2017, the band announced that a "flipped" version of Heartworms would be released on January 19, 2018. Titled The Worm's Heart , the follow-up album contains the same songs as Heartworms , but reinterpreted and presented in reverse-order.[ 32] According to Mercer, slow songs were played faster, quiet songs louder, and vice versa.[ 32]
Track listing
All tracks are written by James Mercer
Title 1. "The Fear (Flipped)" 4:41 2. "So Now What (Flipped)" 4:18 3. "Heartworms (Flipped)" 3:09 4. "Dead Alive (Flipped)" 4:34 5. "Half a Million (Flipped)" 3:27 6. "Rubber Ballz (Flipped)" 3:30 7. "Mildenhall (Flipped)" 4:17 8. "Fantasy Island (Flipped)" 3:27 9. "Cherry Hearts (Flipped)" 2:52 10. "Painting a Hole (Flipped)" 3:10 11. "Name for You (Flipped)" 4:01
Charts
References
^ a b Miller, Kellan. "Album Review: The Shins – Heartworms" . Drowned in Sound . Archived from the original on March 10, 2017. Retrieved March 10, 2017 .
^ a b Brown, Eric Renna. "Album Review: The Shins – Heartworms" . Entertainment Weekly . Retrieved March 11, 2016 .
^ "Future Releases on Alternative Radio Stations, Independent Artist Song Releases – ..." 6 June 2017. Archived from the original on 2017-06-06. Retrieved 3 July 2018 .
^ "Future Releases on Alternative Radio Stations, Independent Artist Song Releases – ..." 22 October 2017. Archived from the original on 2017-10-22. Retrieved 3 July 2018 .
^ Sodomsky, Sam (January 5, 2017). "The Shins Announce Tour" . Pitchfork . Retrieved January 5, 2017 .
^ a b Gomez, Adrian (January 6, 2017). "The Shins will open world tour with homecoming show at El Rey". The Albuquerque Journal .
^ a b "Reviews for Heartworms by the Shins" . Metacritic . Retrieved March 12, 2017 .
^ Phares, Heather. "Album Review: The Shins – Heartworms" . AllMusic . Retrieved March 10, 2017 .
^ Williams, Matt. "The Shins, Laura Marling, Greg Graffin, and more in this week's music reviews" . The A.V. Club . Retrieved March 14, 2017 .
^ Gill, Andy. "Album reviews: The Shins – Heartworms, The Magnetic Fields – 50 Song Memoir, Valerie June – The Order of Time and more" . Independent.co.uk . Archived from the original on 2022-05-09. Retrieved March 14, 2017 .
^ Ashton-Smith, Alan (March 10, 2017). "The Shins – Heartworms Review" . musicOMH . Retrieved March 10, 2017 .
^ Gunn, Charlotte (March 24, 2017). "The Shins – 'Heartworms' Review" . NME . Retrieved March 24, 2017 .
^ Milo, Jeff. "The Shins: Heartworms Review" . Paste . Retrieved March 17, 2017 .
^ Rytlewski, Evan. "Album Review: The Shins – Heartworms" . Pitchfork . Retrieved March 13, 2017 .
^ Dolan, Jon. "Album Review: The Shins – Heartworms" . Rolling Stone . Retrieved March 9, 2017 .
^ "Drowned in Sound's Favourite Albums of 2017" . Drowned in Sound . November 22, 2017. Archived from the original on November 23, 2017. Retrieved November 23, 2017 .
^ Heartworms (booklet). The Shins. Columbia . 2017. 88985 41202 2
^ "Australiancharts.com – The Shins – Heartworms" . Hung Medien. Retrieved March 18, 2017.
^ "Austriancharts.at – The Shins – Heartworms" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 23, 2017.
^ "Ultratop.be – The Shins – Heartworms" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 18, 2017.
^ "The Shins Chart History (Canadian Albums)" . Billboard . Retrieved March 21, 2017.
^ "Dutchcharts.nl – The Shins – Heartworms" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 18, 2017.
^ "Lescharts.com – The Shins – Heartworms" . Hung Medien. Retrieved March 21, 2017.
^ "Offiziellecharts.de – The Shins – Heartworms" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts . Retrieved March 17, 2017.
^ "Irish-charts.com – Discography The Shins" . Hung Medien. Retrieved March 18, 2017.
^ "NZ Heatseeker Albums Chart" . Recorded Music NZ . March 20, 2017. Retrieved March 17, 2017 .
^ "Portuguesecharts.com – The Shins – Heartworms" . Hung Medien. Retrieved March 23, 2017.
^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100" . Official Charts Company . Retrieved March 18, 2017.
^ "Swisscharts.com – The Shins – {{{album}}}" . Hung Medien. Retrieved March 22, 2017.
^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100" . Official Charts Company . Retrieved March 18, 2017.
^ "The Shins Chart History (Billboard 200)" . Billboard . Retrieved March 21, 2017.
^ a b Kaye, Ben (2017-12-15). "The Shins announce The Worm's Heart, a "flipped" version of their latest album, Heartworms" . Consequence of Sound . Retrieved 2018-01-17 .
^ "NZ Heatseeker Albums Chart" . Recorded Music NZ . January 29, 2018. Retrieved January 26, 2018 .
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