James Mercer Not Leaving The Shins, Sticking To Broken Bells

Side projects are always welcome, as long as they are just that – side projects. When side projects become the main project, fans begin to have something to worry about. One of the latest collaborations is Broken Bells with Brian Danger Mouse Burton and James Mercer of The Shins.

Recently, Mercer told NME that he had started Broken Bells because The Shins started to feel heavy. This led many fans to believe that Mercer was pulling the plug on the Shins. To clarify what he meant, Mercer told MTV that he was interested in both projects and that he didn’t plan to quit the Shins:

“There’s some truth [to the NME quote], but I don’t want it to be exaggerated. [I was asked about] the idea right now of going back in and starting those blank pages and working hard on a fourth [Shins] record. [Broken Bells] was just, like, something fun. So fun to do and so different that it was just so fresh and new, and also the fact that it was going to challenge me vocally, sort of having to come up with different approaches to my singing — I couldn’t resist it. And not that I don’t enjoy that more private process of coming up with the Shins material, but right now I’m really enjoying this. Honestly, right now both of us are focused on Broken Bells and we’re so happy with the record and we can’t wait to get back and start working on more.”

Perhaps Mercer and the rest of the Shins stressed all the hype following their last album, Wincing the Night. After such a gorgeous album, the bar was set really high. The good news is that Mercer doesn’t plan on leaving The Shins, he just wants to focus on Broken Bells for now.

“This is the project right now. We’re already working on another album. I’m really interested in this.”

There’s no pressure on Mercer or any of the other Shins members to make another album yet, but let’s just hope that The Shins don’t surprise us with headline that tells of their breakup.

What do you think of Mercer sticking with his side project?