James Mercer, lead singer and songwriter for the indie-pop powerhouse The Shins, sat down with our very own Jenny Eliscu for a glimpse into his perfectly harmonious, yet tortured mind and what inspired their new album Wincing the Night Away. Read the full article here.

It’s rare for Mercer to be this open about his creative process, so we wanted to share it with you, faithful Shins lovers. Check out Mercer discussing his personal songwriting technique [listen], as well as why his lyrics are so obscure [listen]. Now if you’ll excuse us, we’re going to listen to Wincing for the 117th time (check our iTunes play count if you don’t believe us!).