The Shins have more of a reason to love the movies, because one line of dialogue, Natalie Portman’s earnest proclamation that The Shins would change Zach Braff’s life in the indie film, Garden State, shot the band into the front ranks of American indie bands. It wasn’t that The Shins were doing badly before. But let’s face it: Natalie Portman isn’t a bad person to bang your drum.
Dabbling in relatively equal parts rock, folk and alt-rock, The Shins were originally a side project of James Russell Mercer, then from Albuquerque, New Mexico and from a band called Flake Music. For reasons that will probably continue to confound rock historians, all of the members of Flake [Mercer, Martin Crandall (keyboards, guitar, bass), Dave Hernandez (bass, guitar), Jesse Sandoval (drums)] would end up in The Shins [along with ex-Fruit Bat, Eric Johnson and bury Flake Music. They called themselves Shins, whose name was taken from characters in The Music Man, Mercer’s father’s favorite musical, in 1997, insisting it was not just a name change.
Never fast writers, The Shins’ first album, Oh, Inverted World, came out in 2001 on Sub Pop, the legendary Seattle label that unleashed grunge on the world in the early 1990s. But the Shins, who emphasize intelligent lyrics and jangly pop, couldn’t have been less Sub Pop if they tried. But Sub Pop needed to redefine itself and no other label seemed to care so Sub Pop it was.
The album received almost universal raves both because of its grasp of genres, classic song structures and its ability to speak directly to a certain kind of listener. Zach Braff was one of those listeners, drawn to the band’s subject matter and live shows. Already feeling The Shins were part of the soundtrack to his life, it seemed only natural to include them in Garden State. That was all it took to make The Shins standard bearers of the new indie world.
The Shins, needing a change of pace, responded by moving to Portland, Oregon and going straight to work on Chutes Too Narrow, which was released in 2003 to sighs of relief. Rather than sell out, the Shins had gotten even more lyrical and more accomplished. As the English magazine Uncut said, “You don’t expect progression from such evident classicists, but there’s a new clarity, poise and refinement.”
Having shed the dreaded sophomore jinx, the band continued to live in Portland, waiting out Mercer’s insomnia until they could finish album number three, Wincing the Night Away. Although they expected the album to do well, no one expected it to debut at number 2 on the Billboard charts after selling 118,000 copies in its first week. Sub Pop had never had a top ten record, much less a hit of this magnitude.
Now that they’re three for three, Mercer admits to being baffled but also heartened by the response. Now that he’s been able to keep himself challenged creatively, he’s beginning to accept the possibility that he and his band have the ability to maintain a long career. But, if you ask Portman, Braff and the thousands of die-hard fans, that’s something they could have told you about The Shins a long time ago.
Hey! - We added a new track to the player called "U Dream". It's YOUR feedback that helps us figure out which tracks go on the new CD so please have a listen and drop off a comment. Tonight I am also clicking VOTES for ALL of our good friends in the You Bring the Talent contest. Please vote for us too if you like what you hear. Cheers! ... Adam
We want to say "Hi" to all of our newest friends on Uber & a huge "Thank You!" to everyone for all of the great comments, messages and votes. It's very encouraging to be a part of such a great community of artists and music lovers. Cheers! ... Adam
