When the Shins’ frontman was in his kitchen writing the initial versions of the songs that would make up 2017’s Heartworms, his wife latched onto the acoustic vibe of those — and suggested he re-record them like that once the album was done.
“That was the initial idea,” Mercer says. “But there are some songs that are already acoustic. How do you treat those? The idea to do an opposites record came up.”
What Mercer means by “opposites” is The Worm’s Heart, a “flipped” version of Heartworms, out Friday (Jan. 19). Essentially, the fast songs from Heartworms are slowed down, and the slow songs are sped up, with the track order flipped, too.
The band recorded The Worm’s Heart almost immediately after Heartworms was done, in October 2016, months before Heartworms was due for release. While Mercer was all over the recording sessions of Heartworms, he says that drummer Jon Sortland and guitarist/bassist Yuuki Matthews really spearheaded this recording session, getting down the sound. A handful of the tracks were also recorded live.
“I felt like I had pulled my weight on Heartworms and I remember I fell asleep on the couch in the studio [during The Worm’s Heart session],” he says. Mercer did re-record all his vocals and added guitar solos once the bulk of the tracks were complete.
The result is a radical departure from the original versions fans latched onto last year, with opener “The Fear” sounding upbeat, with Mercer’s vocals existing in a more warped realm. “Half a Million” has a reggae feel, and “Painting a Hole” retains that acoustic flavor Mercer’s breakfast table yields, albeit with a spacey sound enveloping it.
Released in March 2017, Heartworms became the Shins’ first No. 1 album on Billboard’s Alternative Albums chart; it also debuted at No. 20 on the Billboard 200, selling 20,000 on its first week of release.
With The Worm’s Heart, the Shins join a growing number of artists giving fans new versions of albums they’ve already released. Last month, Kendrick Lamar releaseda “flipped” version of his critically acclaimed album DAMN., but didn’t re-record the music; he just reversed the track order for a different listening experience, front to back. Also last year, alt-country icon Lucinda Williams released a re-recorded version of her 1992 album One Sweet World pegged to its 25th anniversary. And next month, Will Toledo, who performs as Car Seat Headrest, will release a re-recorded version of his 2011 album Twin Fantasy, which he self-released on Bandcamp.
Mercer’s 2018 is wide open at the moment. When asked if he has plans to make another Broken Bells album, his project with Brian “Danger Mouse” Burton, he says that they’ve “exchanged some texts” but no real plans are in the works right now. “If he had five days off, I can zip down to L.A. or he can come here, and we can make pretty good progress,” he says.
Otherwise, Mercer is in chill mode for the moment. “I think right now I’m on vacation and just waiting to get stoked again,” he says.
