The Shins
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The_Shins_playing_bingo.jpg
The Shins are a musical group comprising vocalist and guitarist James Russell Mercer, who was previously part of the band Blue Roof Dinner, keyboardist/guitarist Martin Crandall, bassist Dave Hernandez, and drummer Jesse Sandoval. The Shins began in 1997, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, as a side-project of Mercer and Sandoval, who were both members of Flake (formed in 1992). By 1999, Flake (which by now had been renamed Flake Music) was disbanded and all of its former members were now in The Shins, excluding Dave Hernandez, who joined the group following the departure of Flake bassist Neal Langford. The group is currently based in Portland, Oregon. Their music is typified as indie rock, but can also be described as a mixture of pop and alternative. Their album Chutes Too Narrow borrows some elements from country and folk.
During live shows, the band members (particularly Crandall and Hernandez) are known to frequently swap instruments, making it somewhat difficult to define their exact roles in the band.
2001 brought Oh, Inverted World, released to critical acclaim on the strength of Mercer's reverb drenched, Brian Wilson styled vocals on standout tracks "Caring is Creepy" and "New Slang", both featured in 2004's Garden State.
Chutes Too Narrow was released in 2003 with much fanfare in indie music circles.
Discography
- When You Land Here It's Time to Return (1997) (as Flake Music)
- Oh, Inverted World (2001)
- Chutes Too Narrow (2003)
External links
- theshins.com (http://www.theshins.com/) - The Shins' official website
- "The Shins" at Sub Pop (http://www.subpop.com/scripts/main/bands_page.php?id=355) - The band's page at their record label Sub Pop's site
- "Oh, Inverted World" at Sub Pop (http://www.subpop.com/bands/shins/) - The website for The Shins' Oh, Inverted World release
- npr.org (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4580390) - An April 2005 interview with NPR