Heartworms | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | ||||
Studio album by | ||||
Released | March 10, 2017 | |||
Recorded | Nov–Dec 2013 ("So Now What"), June 2015 – June 2016 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 41:44 | |||
Label | Columbia | |||
Producer | James Mercer | |||
The Shins chronology | ||||
| ||||
Singles from Heartworms | ||||
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
[edit]Aggregate scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 73/100[7] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The A.V. Club | B[9] |
Drowned In Sound | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Entertainment Weekly | B+[2] |
The Independent | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
musicOMH | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
NME | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Paste | 7.1/10[13] |
Pitchfork | 7.6/10[14] |
Rolling Stone | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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
[edit]Publication | Accolade | Year | Rank | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
Drowned in Sound | Favourite Albums of 2017 | 2017
|
77
|
Track listing
[edit]All tracks are written by James Mercer
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
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
[edit]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
[edit]Chart (2017) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australian Albums (ARIA)[18] | 16 |
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[19] | 52 |
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[20] | 60 |
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[21] | 36 |
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[22] | 26 |
French Albums (SNEP)[23] | 157 |
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[24] | 61 |
Irish Albums (IRMA)[25] | 18 |
New Zealand Heatseeker Albums (RMNZ)[26] | 2 |
Portuguese Albums (AFP)[27] | 35 |
Scottish Albums (OCC)[28] | 16 |
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[29] | 44 |
UK Albums (OCC)[30] | 19 |
US Billboard 200[31] | 20 |
The Worm's Heart
[edit]The Worm's Heart | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | ||||
Remix album by | ||||
Released | January 19, 2018 | |||
Recorded | October 2016 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 41:26 | |||
Label | Columbia | |||
Producer | Yuuki Matthews, Jon Sortland, James Mercer | |||
The Shins chronology | ||||
|
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
[edit]All tracks are written by James Mercer
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
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
[edit]Chart (2018) | Peak position |
---|---|
New Zealand Heatseeker Albums (RMNZ)[33] | 10 |
References
[edit]- ^ 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.