The Shins are an American indie rock band formed in Albuquerque, New Mexico in 1996, and now based in Portland, Oregon. The band's sound draws on several musical genres, including pop, alternative rock, indie rock and folk.
The band is led by singer, songwriter and guitarist James Mercer, who has been its only consistent member. Originally rising to fame with Mercer alongside keyboardist Martin Crandall, bassist Dave Hernandez, and drummer Jesse Sandoval, this lineup fell apart in 2009, and there have been few consistent members since.
Although their first two albums were released to critical and commercial success, many credit the film Garden State's use of "New Slang" with bringing the band to mainstream attention. (A second song from the same album, "Caring Is Creepy", also appears on the film's soundtrack.)
Their latest album, Heartworms, was released in March 2017.
Studio albums:
- Oh, Inverted World (2001)
- Chutes Too Narrow (2003)
- Wincing The Night Away (2007)
- Port of Morrow (2012)
- Heartworms (2017)
This band provides examples of:
- Album Title Drop: Oh, Inverted World and Chutes Too Narrow are named for lyrics in "One By One All Day" and "Young Pilgrims", respectively.
- Growing Up Sucks: One interpretation of "New Slang".
- I Am the Band: James Mercer. It got to the point where The A.V. Club called the band "James Mercer and friends" instead of "The Shins".
- Last Note Nightmare: "One By One All Day" is mostly calm...until the end, where there's a very loud, jarring chord to end the song.
- Lyrical Dissonance: All over the place.
- Perhaps the greatest example is "Australia". Perhaps the most upbeat and cheery sounding song on Wincing the Night Away belies lyrics that befit a Despair Event Horizon.
- Lyrics/Video Mismatch: Another staple of their style. For example:
- The Rifle's Spiral: The song is about a suicide bomber. The video is a stop-motion animation of a magician protecting a rabbit from a Nebulous Evil Organisation.
- Simple Song: The song is a man reminiscing about his childhood sweetheart. The video is three adult siblings attending their father's funeral.
- Minimalistic Cover Art: "Oh! Inverted World"
- Non-Appearing Title: "Know Your Onion", "Australia", "Phantom Limb" note , and "Caring is Creepy".
- Old-Timey Ankle Taboo: "Turn A Square":Just a glimpse of an ankle and I
React like it's 1805 - Protest Song: "No Way Down"
- "Sesame Street" Cred: They've been on Yo Gabba Gabba! and contributed music to The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie soundtrack.
- Sliding Scale of Idealism vs. Cynicism: They even move up and down this in mid-song.
- Surreal Music Video: The Rifle's Spiral is a strange marriage of Edward Gorey and David Lynch. In Stop Motion.
- This Is a Song: "Simple Song"
- Word Salad Lyrics: Subverted; the lyrics seem random, but they certainly do suggest a consistent feeling, and are rife with metaphors.
