Neal Langford of The Shins Dies at 50

Last Updated on 08/02/2023 by てんしょく飯

Neal Langford, former bassist of US indie rock band The Shins, has died at the age of 50.

The Shins frontman James Mercer, 52, reported on the band’s official Instagram page.

He was with me in several bands, including The Shins, and was a very important person in my life. He was a very important person in my life. He convinced me to get in front of the mic. He put me in front of the mic!

Recalling his childhood days of joking around, James continued.

He was the Catholic school kid who taught me how to sneak into the back of the old El Rey Theater and get ‘free’ beer. He is irreplaceable! The guy who taught me about Dinosaur Jr. and Interview Magazine and the Cocteau Twins and too many other cool things to count. I loved him. I owe him a lot. Neal Langford, you were always loved and always will be.”

Neal, who co-owned the hot air balloon company IBX Balloon Flight and was also a balloon pilot, was found and pronounced dead near his private dock in Bath Creek, South Carolina, on Friday, July 21, according to a WITN report. Although the cause of death is not known at this time, the death is not considered suspicious.

James and Neal started out in a band called Flake (which changed to Flake Music in the 1990s), while James and drummer Jesse Sandoval formed The Shins in 1996, and Neal joined in 1999. O, Inverted World” was released in 2001, but Neal left two years later before the release of their second album, “Shoots to Narrow”.

The band went on a five-year hiatus after their third album, 2007’s “Wishing the Night Away,” was a huge hit, returning in 2012 with the album “Port of Morrow,” and their last album was 2017’s “The Worm’s Heart. “17 The band’s first album, “The Worm’s Heart,” was a hit, and the band’s second album, “The Worm’s Heart,” was their last album.