Music Mondays: Spotlight on The Shins
Written By Brandon Huang
Hailing from Albuquerque, indie rock band The Shins, has been regarded as royalty in the rapidly growing genre. Headed by the mellow, yet emotional vocals of James Mercer, each of their songs feel like an auditory journey full of meaningful vocals. Mercer shows his true lyrical prowess and flexibility with writing upbeat songs and slow ballads. Each one of their four albums has a distinct feel and a clear evolutionary path can be drawn from the live-sounding Oh Inverted World to the new electronic sound of Port of Morrow.
Oh Inverted World, was released in 2001 to much public appeal. With a distinct sound and distant vocals, the song brought much attention to the then fledging group. Many of the songs from the album are still regarded some of the best from the band such as Caring is Creepy and New Slang. With the success from their album, The Shins toured for much of 2002 and began to record their second album in 2003. That album was released in 2004 and became known as Chutes Too Narrow. Chutes Too Narrow showed a growing maturity in the sound of The Shins and became their first album to chart on the Billboard 200 peaking at #86. Following the success of their second album, they released their third in 2007 called Wincing The Night Away. A personal favorite, Wincing the Night Away reached commercial success, selling 100,000 copies in its first week and earning them a Grammy nomination. After the album was released, Mercer began working with Broken Bells, a side project, putting The Shins on hiatus for a few years. Their return was marked with the release of Port of Morrow in 2012 on their own recording label, and a tour that sent them to Coachella.
Hailing from Albuquerque, indie rock band The Shins, has been regarded as royalty in the rapidly growing genre. Headed by the mellow, yet emotional vocals of James Mercer, each of their songs feel like an auditory journey full of meaningful vocals. Mercer shows his true lyrical prowess and flexibility with writing upbeat songs and slow ballads. Each one of their four albums has a distinct feel and a clear evolutionary path can be drawn from the live-sounding Oh Inverted World to the new electronic sound of Port of Morrow.
Oh Inverted World, was released in 2001 to much public appeal. With a distinct sound and distant vocals, the song brought much attention to the then fledging group. Many of the songs from the album are still regarded some of the best from the band such as Caring is Creepy and New Slang. With the success from their album, The Shins toured for much of 2002 and began to record their second album in 2003. That album was released in 2004 and became known as Chutes Too Narrow. Chutes Too Narrow showed a growing maturity in the sound of The Shins and became their first album to chart on the Billboard 200 peaking at #86. Following the success of their second album, they released their third in 2007 called Wincing The Night Away. A personal favorite, Wincing the Night Away reached commercial success, selling 100,000 copies in its first week and earning them a Grammy nomination. After the album was released, Mercer began working with Broken Bells, a side project, putting The Shins on hiatus for a few years. Their return was marked with the release of Port of Morrow in 2012 on their own recording label, and a tour that sent them to Coachella.
Shins Playlist Caring is Creepy- Oh Inverted World Saint Simon- Chutes Too Narrow So Says I- Chutes Too Narrow Australia- Wincing The Night Away Phantom Limb-Wincing The Night Away Turn On Me- Wincing the Night Away A Comet Appears- Wincing the Night Away Simple Song- Port of Morrow No Way Down- Port of Morrow For A Fool- Port of Morrow |