Over the years since their remarkable 2001 debut album, The Shins have undergone numerous personnel changes. That's OK though, as long as lead singer and songwriter James Mercer is still running the show.

While time and age have perhaps supplanted the group's original wide-eyed naivete, that's been more than adequately replaced at live shows by an expanded 7-piece lineup. The current incarnation of The Shins can not only tear through old fan favorites like “Caring Is Creepy” and “So Says I”, but also shows off layers of development on the new material Mercer has penned.

In fact, the most surprising thing for longtime fans seeing the group for the first time in a while is how muscular and filled out The Shins sound is in a live setting now. Whereas Mercer might have occasionally been something of a quiet frontman, his confidence in himself and his ace band of veteran indie rockers has him revealing a much more showman-like style on stage.

Don't worry about the current lineup overdoing things, either. When the time comes to treat a classic song like “New Slang” with the delicacy it requires, for all their newfound power, the group handles that song with great finesse.

There are few touring rock bands able to deliver as varied a trip through indie styles as The Shins, something that makes them a concert worth seeking out.

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