"It's Only Life" is a song performed by The Shins, issued as the second single from their album Port of Morrow. The song was written by the band's lead singer James Mercer.[2]

"It's Only Life"
Single by The Shins
from the album Port of Morrow
ReleasedMarch 16, 2012 (2012-03-16)[1]
Recorded2011 (2011)
GenreIndie pop, indie rock
Length4:01
LabelAural Apothecary/Columbia
Songwriter(s)James Mercer[2]
The Shins singles chronology
"Simple Song"
(2012)
"It's Only Life"
(2012)
"No Way Down / Fall of '82"
(2012)
Music video
"It's Only Life" on YouTube

Critical reception

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The song has received mixed to positive reviews from critics. Brendan of MusicUnderFire praised Mercer's skills in writing the song and further stated that the song "smashes [the previous single] to pieces".[3] Matt from A Heart is a Spade considered the song a "heart-on-sleeve" track and called its accompanying video "sentimental".[4] Conversely, Michael Roffman of Consequence of Sound gave the song a negative review, stating that the song is "the sort of sappy fluff whose plasticity poisons a genre".[5]

Music video

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The official music video for the song was directed by Hiro Murai.[6]

Live performances

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The band has performed the song on the Late Show with David Letterman[7] and Saturday Night Live.[8]

References

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  1. ^ "Amazon.com: It's Only Life: The Shins: MP3 Downloads". Amazon.com. Retrieved April 19, 2014.
  2. ^ a b "It's Only Life - The Shins - Listen, Appearances, Song Review - AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved April 19, 2014.
  3. ^ Brendan (May 6, 2012). "Listen: The Shins "It's Only Life" - MusicUnderFire". MusicUnderFire. Retrieved April 19, 2014.
  4. ^ Matt (July 11, 2012). "The Shins Debut New Video". A Heart is a Spade. Retrieved April 19, 2014.
  5. ^ Roffman, Michael (March 19, 2012). "The Shins – Port of Morrow - Album Reviews - Consequence of Sound". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved April 19, 2014.
  6. ^ "▶ ▶ The Shins - It's Only Life (Official Music Video) - YouTube". YouTube. July 11, 2012. Retrieved April 19, 2014.
  7. ^ "▶ ▶ The Shins - It's Only Life (Live On Letterman) - YouTube". YouTube. April 21, 2012. Retrieved April 19, 2014.
  8. ^ Navaroli, Joel. "SNL Archives - Episodes - 03.10.2012 #10". SNL Archives. Retrieved April 19, 2014.
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