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The Shins are hard at work on their new album – and hope to release it next summer.

The cult American indie band have been working on the follow-up to 2004’s ‘Chutes Too Narrow’ with producer Phil Ek since September in Seattle, and are finishing the LP in frontman James Mercer's home studio.

The record, the band’s third, will be titled either ‘Wincing the Night Away’ or ‘Sleeping Lessons’, both references to Mercer's crippling insomnia, reports Rolling Stone.

Mercer said of the album: "I've been mixing mikes to get really weird sounds.”

While he has yet to write most of the lyrics (“That's probably the last thing I do”), he says the ones he’s nailed down so far chronicle “human-condition stuff”.

He explained: "One song is about the Fifties, when all of these modern conveniences were being invented - like microwave ovens. People predicted that we wouldn't work as much, but we work just as much, just more efficiently. Human life is about enjoying it, and this American worth ethic prevents people from really experiencing life."

He added, "Instead of mixing in a hurry, we want to get back to the ability to treat each sound with special effects and have it be a more atmospheric-sounding record. We really think of ourselves as a psychedelic band. That's the shit we listen to."

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Date/Time	Venue	Town/City	Seetickets	Viagogo
Mar 22, 2012 19:00	Hmv Forum - Kentish Town	London	Tickets not currently available.	Buy The Shins Tickets from £47
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