The Shins
albums
The Shins lead the charge of what would have to be called the "indie rock explosion" of the mid 00's. They
made two of the greatest pop records of that decade, Oh Inverted World and Chutes too Narrow, and then got
popular too ridiculous proportions because of the inclusion of their music in the plot of the movie Garden State. It
is rare that any movie stops to make a point about how good a band is, but this movie did just that and they were
right on. With this fame, The Shins are expected to be one of the key bands of the 00's in rock music and in my
opinion they always were that. They are great at making easy going rock music that is as melodic as it is smart.
With foundations in The Flake, a band from the 90's James Mercer also fronted, the band has grown quite
steadily and make music worth remembering.
Band Memebers: James Mercer - Guitar, Vocals
Dave Hernandez - Bass
Jesse Sandoval - Drums
Marty Crandall - Keyboards
Best Album: Oh, Inverted World
Biggest Influences: The Who, The Zombies, The Beach Boys
2001
Oh, Inverted World - 9/8
This album is what you call a "modest masterpiece". It creeps up on you. The first couple of months I had it, I
thought it was pretty good, but nothing special. Every time I pulled it out to listen to it though, it got better and
better, and sometimes it's just like that. Now I think it is flawless: the best kind of pure pop album since the early
60's classics like Odessey and Oracle, The Who Sell Out, Revolver, and Village Green Preservation Society. It
purposefully recalls those old classics, but also adds elements from The La's, Hypnotised, Kaleidoscope World,
and Skylarking, making it a nice mix of modern sounds mixed with old sensibilities. The best thing about it is it's
flow and consistency though. The balance of tunes is right on, from the bouncy - "Know Your Onion", "Caring is
Creepy", "Girl on the Wing", and "Pressed in a Book", to the moody/atmospheric - "Weird Divide", "Your Algebra",
"The Past and Pending". The best of these songs manage to be both though: "One by One all Day" starts off with
mystique but just gets curiouser and curiouser as it goes; "New Slang" became the crossover hit, with one of
those "why didn't I think of that?" melodies that gets you every time; "Girl Inform Me" changes up the verse-chorus
structure somewhat, and though it heavily recalls the Pete Townshend classic "Odorono", it actually improves on
its ancestor. As the album is going it has a ghostly charm and it feels familiar though it is actually brand new - this
is what the best music does. It also comes off as very easy to do, but albums as consistent as Oh Inverted World
hardly ever come along, though thank God they do. - Trevor e.y.
1.caring is creepy- 4
2.one by one all day- 4
3.wierd divide- 4
4.know your onion- 4
5.girl inform me- 4
6.new slang- 4
7.the celibate life- 4
8.girl on the wing- 4
9.your algebra- 3
10.pressed in a book- 4
11.the past and pending- 4
2003
Chutes too Narrow - 8/8
This really sounds like a rejuvenated band. The band keeps trucking along with their second record, and it is
the same story with me - Why can't I absorb these guys' albums? It took me forever to understand this record, and
it seems so straight forward! Well, it was worth the effort, and I'm glad it exists. Instead of keeping that kind of 60's
psych mood that Oh Inverted World had in spades, the band just become a regular pop band, albeit with a couple
of unique factors: 1) a lyricist in Mercer that defies the term "large vocabulary"; 2) complex song structures in
some songs; 3) diverse styles. To cover the first area, lines like "you were poorly dressed as a malcontent" and "I
found a fatal flaw in the logic of love and went out of my head" back me up there, and the band ups the ante of
the pop song without ever being forceful. Point (2), well, I still couldn't hum you "So Says I" even though I have
heard it a zillion times, and "Kissing the Lipless" builds and builds into something that sounds catchy but really is
just kinda strange, outta place guitar solos and what not. The last point about styles is one of the albums most
charming points, from the 60's throw back "Saint Simon" to the country ballad "Gone for Good", and then there's
the ballads "Young Pilgrams" and "Those to Come", which are both ballads but couldn't sound more different form
each other. There are many other things that distinguish this album from its predecessor, but really what The
Shins prove here is that they have huge diversity, not just one specific kind of album in them. That being said, this
is not quite as consistent as the debut in my opinion, though it was a great move to make such a different record
and have it actually succeed. Chutes too Narrow got pretty much unanimous praise from critics of the time, and it
deserved it all. - Trevor e.y.
1.kissing the lipless- 4
2.mine's not a high horse- 4
3.so says i- 4
4.young pilgrams- 3
5.saint simon- 4
6.fighting in a sack- 4
7.pink bullets- 2
8.turn a square- 4
9.gone for good- 4
10.those to come- 4
2007
Wincing the Night Away - 4/8
This album might as well be called "out of ideas". This is not a disappointment because of the "hype" or
anything ridiculous like that, it is just a bad album. Mercer barely writes tunes capable of pop radio fame; these
are boring songs. The producton actually recalls Mummer-era XTC, if that makes any sense. In a society where
everything looks 20 years backwards, the album sounds hopelessly 1980's. Songs rip off old ones at times: "A
Comet Appears" is the traditional ballad that ends the Shins album, "Phantom Limb" is the breakout hit a la "New
Slang", "Sleeping Lessons" is the building opener, etc. The problem is none of these songs are great, and only
"Austrailia", "Split Needles", and "Turn on Me" with its predictable pop are kind of interesting ("Sealegs", with its
dated synth sounds, pretty much destroys itself). That's not a good ratio from one of the most promising bands of
the decade, and quite the failure. Let's hope they can recover and Mercer can regain his senses - it is a shame to
see a band with two of the best albums so far this decade put out a bad record.
1.sleeping lessons- 2
2.austrailia- 3
3.pam berry- gf
4.phantom limb- 2
5.sealegs- 3
6.red rabbits- 2
7.turn on me- 3
8.black wave- 2
9.split needles- 3
10.girl sailor- 2
11.a comet appears- 1
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