New Shins Album Slated for January 2017

Shins fans have been waiting years for a new album from the band — and it sounds like that wait should soon be over.

Frontman James Mercer spilled the beans during a recent interview with Portland, Ore.'s KBOO 90.7 (which you can listen to via the above audio embed), explaining that the band's first full-length studio effort since 2012’s Port of Morrow is actually already finished, but it's being held back by the label as part of an overall marketing plan.

"This whole new culture of festivals has taken over basically," said Mercer (via Consequence of Sound). "So that Coachella was a factor in my label wanting to postpone the release of the [new] record. Because Coachella is such a powerful influencer, it’s such a high profile festival that we want to get as good a placement as we can in it. And I guess apparently when you release your record has some sort of influence on that."

Saying he hopes to have the LP out by January of 2017, Mercer promised the new set of songs would be worth the wait, describing an album that found him forging a new creative path while still retaining the core components of the sound fans have come to expect.

"I think we’ve got something that Shins fan will really love, and I think there’s some other things on there that are different enough. I made a concerted effort on certain songs to fit the palette, to use the palette that I’ve used historically for the band. And then on other songs, I really jumped off because I was having so much fun just learning some new tools that I had at my disposal like arpeggiators and things," he added. "I think there’s a lot for everybody on this record. I think it’s really strong. I think lyrically, I’m better than I ever was. And I think my songwriting is stronger than it ever was."

Next: The 25 Most Underrated Albums of the Past 25 Years