The Shins' James Mercer teams with Kyle Crane for "Wishing Cap" (listen)

Drummer Kyle Crane is perhaps best known as the drum double in Whiplash, and he’s also contributed to albums by Kurt Vile, Neko Case, Big K.R.I.T., and tons of others. He’s also got a solo project called Crane Like The Bird and he’s set to release a self-titled solo album on January 18 via his own Crane Like The Bird Records (pre-order on Bandcamp or iTunes). It features tons of famous guest vocalists, including The Shins’ James Mercer, Band of Horses’ Ben Bridwell, Conor Oberst, M. Ward, Peter from Peter Bjorn & John, Empire of the Sun’s Luke Steele, and Brazilian Girls’ Sabina Sciubba. It’s also got instrumental contributions from Blake Mills, Daniel Lanois, Brad Mehldau, and Kurt Rosenwinkel.

You already heard the song with Ben Bridwell, and we’re now premiering the song with James Mercer, “Wishing Cap” (along with its video). It’s a nice dose of indie pop that Shins fans will surely dig, and Mercer’s voice sounds great with Kyle. Here’s what Kyle tells us about it:

When I would visit my grandparents I would stay in my father’s old room that he grew up in. One time I was rummaging through the closet and I found an old shoe box with letters and an old green baseball cap in the closet. I thought “what if I put this hat on and it gives me special powers and I can climb through that old photo on the wall and be transported to the past?”

Watch the video, and see a photo of the baseball cap, the album artwork, and the tracklist, below.

Tracklist
1. Wishing Cap (feat. James Mercer)
2. Now
3. Nicole (feat. Ben Bridwell)
4. Grizzly Creek Redwoods State Park
5. Mendocino (feat. Luke Steele)
6. When I See (feat. Conor Oberst)
7. Kaleidoscope (feat. Sabina Sciubba and Brad Mehldau)
8. Glass Half Full (feat. Peter Morén)
9. The Painter (feat. M. Ward)