If you haven’t heard of the Shins by now, you clearly haven’t been reading Voice Leisure. With every move they make, The Shins gain more and more attention for their brilliant songwriting, tight musicianship and irresistible melodies.
Their 2001 debut album, Oh, Inverted World, propelled them into the hearts and minds of independent critics with its endearing guitar hooks and delicately arranged atmosphere. Since then, every new release has increased the intensity of critical salivating over the band, culminating in the phenomenal success of the band’s second full-length album Chutes Too Narrow, released last October. Even the Voice has jumped on the Shins train, placing the album at the coveted third spot in the “Top 11 Albums of 2003” (Leisure, Jan. 12).
With two upcoming sold-out shows at the Black Cat, it would behoove Georgetown students to familiarize themselves with the Shins in time to network their way onto the guest lists, or at least to prepare to beat their bespectacled neighbors over the head to steal their tickets.
James Mercer, guitarist/songwriter and frontman, was raised in Germany, which raises the question of why, outside of divine providence, he chose to relocate to Albuquerque. There, about 10 years ago, he met the other three members of the group and formed Flake, essentially the same lineup as The Shins with everyone playing different instruments.
Eventually, they got their act together, figured out who should really play what, and refocused their songwriting away from traditional indie rock and towards more Beach Boys-esque pop. While some might consider much of their work saccharine, the band’s trademark sound relies on tried and true aural charisma.
One of the key decisions that transformed the band and made their debut so successful was the addition of keyboards instead of a second guitar; Marty Crandall’s epic synth flourishes give Oh, Inverted World the majestic, spacious feel that critics love so dearly. Hernandez’s “eros-soaked bass mastery,” as the band’s press kit calls it, and Jesse Sandoval’s drumming generate a tight, classic guitar pop rhythm section that is a testament to the years the band has spent playing together. This allows Mercer to experiment with unusual chord progressions and complex arrangements.
In the end, though, the real power of the Shins’ music lays in the classic songwriting structures and sensibilities that the band relies on to make their songs as appealing as they are. This fact comes through all the more clearly on Chutes Too Narrow. The atmosphere of Oh, Inverted World is practically dissolved in favor of a more straightforward production style that lends the instruments more prominence with less background effects, resulting in a stripped down set of songs that are all the more impressive.
Chutes Too Narrow’s sonic transition is clearly the right direction for the band to take, as it showcases the band’s technical skill, experience playing together, and most importantly, Mercer’s ever more genius songwriting. The intricacies of each song become more noticeable, and it quickly becomes evident that the band doesn’t need all the atmosphere of their debut to be praiseworthy. The album’s feel ranges between manic glee and laid-back, sunny reflection, from the distorted Beach Boys riffs of “So Says I” to the alt-country touches on “Gone for Good.”
In the end, though, all the songs are instantly addictive, and this is where the genius of the Shins really lies. They are masters of the kind of infectious guitar hook and sing-along lyrical combination that has been the key to the success of just about every guitar pop band since the Beatles. Last fall, the band proclaimed in their press releases that Chutes Too Narrow would “drop in October like Fat Man on Nagasaki, except for good, not evil.” After giving the album innumerable spins and still craving those same 10 gorgeous songs, I believe they were correct.
The Shins will be playing on Tues., Feb. 10 and Wed., Feb. 11. at the Black Cat, 1811 14th St N.W.
