Portland indie-rock mainstays The Shins will return to Australia for performances in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane in addition to appearances at Fairgrounds Festival and Fidelity Festival this December. Melbourne based singer-songwriter Angie McMahon will join as a special guest at all shows.

In contrast to 2012’s ‘Port Of Morrow’, The Shins’ new album ‘Heartworms’ ushers in a return to the handmade. ‘Heartworms’ is, as always, entirely written by James Mercer. However with the exception of ‘So Now What‘ (produced by Richard Swift), the album is the first Shins album to be self-produced by Mercer since ‘Oh, Inverted World‘ in 2001.

‘Heartworms’ features Mercer’s most diverse lyrical palette to date: From fictional character sketches (“Fantasy Island”, “Rubber Ballz”), autobiographical accounts (“Mildenhall”), to first single “Name For You“, a resounding call for female empowerment inspired by Mercer’s three daughters.

The result is a cohesive, genre defying album marked by Mercer’s distinct voice and melodic composition. Unified by his singular vision, Mercer creates a sound that is both familiar – a nostalgic nod to the album’s predecessors – and distinctly new.

More info on The Shins.