The Shins Turn 30 With Two Unreleased 1996 Songs, and Portland, Oregon's James Mercer Has a Children's Book Coming

Portland, Oregon's James Mercer is marking 30 years of The Shins two ways: a limited 7-inch of two previously unreleased 1996 songs, and his first children's book, Book of Dreams, due March 2, 2027. Mercer says the book grew out of talking about dreams with his daughters.

Two songs from 1996

Stereogum reported on July 13, 2026, that the 30th-anniversary 7-inch features "The Living End" and "All Messed Up," two 1996 tracks by Mercer with original drummer Jesse Sandoval. It is limited to 1,000 copies and comes with original art by Mercer from the same period.

Stereogum pointed fans to the band's merch store at kf-merch.com to order. The timing lines up with another milestone: The Shins' debut album, Oh, Inverted World, turned 25 in summer 2026, and the band had been active for about five years before it came out.

Book of Dreams

Random House Studio, an imprint of Random House Children's Books, will publish Book of Dreams, written by Mercer and illustrated by Jacob Escobedo. The 40-page picture book for ages 4 to 8 moves through dreams in rhyming verse, from playful and strange to scary and deep, with dream-journal prompts in the back.

"Dreams were something my daughters and I talked about all the time," Mercer said in the announcement posted by Nasty Little Man. He said he wanted the book "to capture the feeling of moving through those strange nighttime worlds where anything can happen." Editor Maria Correa acquired North American rights. Mercer narrates the audiobook through Listening Library, and an original lullaby from him is on the way.

Escobedo, an Atlanta-based SVP of Creative at Cartoon Network and Adult Swim, has designed album art for The Shins, Broken Bells and DangerDoom. His art for the book is gouache and acrylic, printed with fluorescent pink ink.

From Albuquerque to Portland

Mercer founded The Shins in 1996 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and later co-founded Broken Bells with Danger Mouse. The two-time Grammy nominee lives in Portland with his family. KOIN called the group a "New Mexico-turned-Portland indie band."

This fall, The Shins and Silversun Pickups were the support acts on Weezer: The Gathering, a 32-date arena run. Consequence listed a Sept. 11 stop at Portland's Moda Center and an Oct. 24 wrap at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.

The Shins have 135K Instagram followers as of October 2026.

Where to listen and follow

News and tour updates are at theshins.com, and the anniversary 7-inch was offered through kf-merch.com.

Sources

Stereogum — "The Shins Celebrate 30th Anniversary With Previously Unreleased Songs On New 7″"
Nasty Little Man — "The Shins' James Mercer to Make Picture Book Debut with Random House Children's Books"
KOIN — "Weezer returning to Moda Center for 2026 tour with The Shins"
Consequence — "Weezer Announce 2026 Arena Tour with The Shins and Silversun Pickups"