James Mercer on pouring truth into the Shins' songs

James Mercer of the Shins says his social anxiety has been an "inhibiting factor" to his creative work and he's spent "years coming out of his shell." He tells host Tom Power that music has been a tool for him to break free from his own anxieties and pour his true life into his lyrics.

"I think that's the wonderful thing about art probably in general but music especially, is that you can kind of take these things that are negatives and you can speak about them and articulate them in a way that doesn't work with just using your words and it almost beautifies it, it almost glamorizes it in a weird way."

Mercer shares songs from the new album, tells Tom about his time living on an American military base in England and more.

The Shins' new album Heartworms is out March 10.

Web extra: Listen below to tracks from Heartworms featured on q:

— Produced by Dameon Fairless