The Shins have been pretty quiet since releasing The Worm's Heart, a "flipped" version of 2017's Heartworms, nearly three years ago and on Thursday (September 23) made their return with a timely new single, "The Great Divide."
Frontman James Mercer described the track as âa blend of futurism and nostalgia. We used everything from vintage synthesizers to iPhones, from a sixties Ludwig kit to an 808â in a statement.
âItâs an epic about longing and love in a broken world,â Mercer continued. âI guess we wanted to try to provide a bit of warmth and sentiment in hard times.â
Watch "The Great Divide" video below.
In true Shins style, the band also released a "flipped" version of the new song.
âWhen the Shins do a âflippedâ version of a song, the goal is always to re-approach the production aesthetic and show a different side to the piece," Mercer explained. "The idea is that a song properly written can be framed in many different contexts and still remain engaging. Yuuki Matthews, Jon Sortland and I sat down and talked about how we could change things up. The original idea was to treat it like a piano ballad but that soon gave way to Yuukiâs moody post new wave treatment. I immediately loved it and so the direction was established. When we flip a song correctly you should have a hard time picking which version you like best!â
Listen to the "flipped" version of "The Great Divide" here.
Photo: Getty Images