While Andre 3000 shimmied, the Strokes discovered their inner-Cars, and Jack and Meg managed to further muddy the details of their relationship, the Shins worked this year to once and for all dispel the myth that all things indie are unlistenable.
Guardian
To the contrary, the Shins fashioned one of the year’s most melodic records with Chutes Too Narrow, a virtually uncontested indie-pop success that breezed onto the Top 10 lists of countless critics and won over legions that missed the New Mexico quartet’s 2001 debut, Oh, Inverted World. The Shins will carry this hype to their sold-out show at Canes Bar and Grill in Mission Beach on Feb. 8.
The Shins are often, and not mistakenly, compared to two great pop balladeers of the 1960s, the Zombies and the Beach Boys. However, what the Shins do on Chutes and, to only a slightly lesser degree on Oh, Inverted World, is refreshingly unique. Though infectiously catchy, the band’s songs are neither sugary-sweet nor sonically challenging. The Shins instead opt to craft left-field pop tunes that change direction at just the right moment to create the beautiful hooks that characterize every song. What’s more, songwriter/vocalist/guitarist James Mercer’s melodies don’t rely on intricate harmonies or extensive instrumentation, but simply on excellent songwriting.
Over half of the tracks on Chutes begin with the scratch of a lone pick on muted strings before Marty Crandall’s understated but atmospheric keys, Dave Hernandez’s utilitarian basslines and Jesse Sandoval’s propellant drums round them out.
Mercer’s vocals, which range from calm faux-Brit to high-register Brian Wilson, are the Shins’ piece de resistance, forming verses and bridges that are just as memorable as the choruses. “”Saint Simon,”” possibly the best song on Chutes, takes the listener for a circular ride that finally breaks into a blissful, violin-backed chorus of “”la la las.”” Other album highlights include the arpeggiated keyboards of “”Mine’s Not a High Horse,”” the four-chord drawl of “”Gone for Good”” and the loud/soft dynamics of “”So Says I.””
The Shins’ evolution into indie-pop wunderkinds began in 1997 when the band formed as a side project to the members’ main endeavor, Flake Music. After releasing a couple of lo-fi EPs and 7″”s and touring with the reputable Modest Mouse, the band won a spot on the national scene with Oh, Inverted World. The record introduced Mercer as a pop-sensible, if somewhat unconventional, songwriter with the rough-around-the-edges but coherent “”Girl Inform Me,”” “”Know Your Onion!”” and “”New Slang.””
Members of the Shins had a few run-ins with pop culture in 2002, as Mercer penned the tune for a Gap commercial (remember the one with Ashton Kutcher and company riding bikes “”down on khaki street””?) and Crandall’s girlfriend Elyse Sewell sported a well-tailored Shins top in front of Tyra Banks last year on “”America’s Top Model.””
Released in late 2003, Chutes is still generating a buzz ó one that should translate into a great show this weekend. Fellow Sub Poppers All Night Radio and the Seattle, Wash., Magic Musicians open the 21-and-up concert.
