Grade: A-

Before I attended the University, my musical tastes revolved mostly around hip hop, classic rock and Radiohead.

Like many freshmen, coming to college opened my eyes to a lot of new experiences, and my most notable new love was the world of indie rock. Spending my days at the Rodge (which was once on the land that is now Centennial Hall) had a lot to do with my musical awakening.

In my freshman year I discovered many great bands including MGMT, Vampire Weekend, Modest Mouse, Death Cab for Cutie and probably one of the most notable additions to my growing scope of musical acquisitions: The Shins.

One of my closest friends was a huge Shins fan, and he put me onto their last album: “Wincing the Night Away,” which was released in 2007. It grew to be one of my favorite albums ever.

But five years later, James Mercer and a revamped cast of bandmates have finally released a new Shins album, “Port of Morrow.”

Upon hearing about this new Shins album, my euphoric excitement and anticipation was quickly chased by skepticisms and fears. With a totally new lineup, will this be the same band I first fell in love with while living in a musky dorm room? Will Mercer use his Broken Bells sound on a Shins album?

Any doubts were quickly evaporated with lead single, “Simple Song.” The single is vintage-Shins: mid-tempo spaced out guitars, the slight reverb on Mercer’s vocals and an incredible melody that will undoubtedly have you humming along even if you don’t quite know the words.

“Port of Morrow” is exactly what fans want: a Shins album. The new cast of players, including former Modest Mouse drummer Joe Plummer, fall right in line, and Mercer does an excellent job of sticking to what works while adding slight improvements.

The main improvement on the new record is Mercer’s songwriting. The Shins have always been known for their great playing and melodies, but I generally never understand what the heck Mercer is talking about in most songs.

Songs like “September” and my personal favorite, “It’s Only Life,” feature some of Mercer’s best and most focused songwriting to date.

The Shins are one of the most likeable bands of our generation because they’re musical without going too far left and experimental. They play great rock music that could be from almost any era, but they still have that distinct Shins sound.

The down-tempo “For a Fool” is a perfect example of this; once you hear it, you absolutely know it’s a Shins song. It’s a great laid-back jam that would go perfectly with a late spring, warm weather, porch beer drinking session.

The Thin Lizzy sounding “Fall of ‘82” is a prime example of how The Shins sound like a band that could be popular in almost any era, and it wouldn’t surprise me a bit if this song was played on classic rock radio someday.

The album’s title track is really the only song that sounds extremely different, but it’s also one of the best tracks. The song sounds like a mix between “Wincing the Night Away” and a Broken Bells song, with a dreamy atmosphere and Mercer’s falsetto singing.

“Port of Morrow” is a brief listen at just over 40 minutes, but it’s essentially the perfect comeback album. It gives fans more of the old stuff, but manages to blend in some new stuff as well.

And as a senior about to graduate, listening to The Shins always take me back to freshman year, sharing music with my new friends in my dorm room.

But this new album gives me another memory of going to Finders on the day of its release with my friend, and then driving around Bowling Green playing The Shins.