Arriving less than a year after
Heartworms,
The Worm's Heart finds
the Shins literally flipping the script:
James Mercer and crew turn their previous album's track listing on its head and transform its fast songs into slow ones, and vice-versa. While
Heartworms was already some of the band's most eclectic music,
the Shins stretch their range even further on these "flipped" versions of its songs -- with mixed results. There are moments on
The Worm's Heart that surpass the original album. "The Fear" gets one of the most radical and successful makeovers here, changing from a string-laden ballad into a chugging rocker that sounds like a
Velvet Underground rehearsal. It's loose, unexpected, and fun, and so are the remakes of "So Now What," which dabbles in chillwave; the newly riff-heavy "Cherry Hearts," and the electro-pop rework of "Heartworms." On the flipside, "Half a Million"'s reggae revamp and the boogie-tinged version of "Mildenhall" feel gimmicky and detract from the originals' charm. Then there are songs like "Dead Alive (Flipped)," which sounds like a ballad recorded in a haunted drawing room -- an interesting, but not particularly necessary, change. Die-hard fans may appreciate the musical switcheroos on
The Worm's Heart, but others may not understand the need for them. ~ Heather Phares
