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The Shins is an American indie rock band centered around James Mercer.
The band formed in 1997, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States as a side project of Mercer (previously of Blue Roof Dinner) and drummer Jesse Sandoval, who were both members of Flake Music. The band's original lineup was Mercer (vocals, guitar), Sandoval (drums), Marty Crandall (keyboards) and Dave Hernandez (bass). Neil Langford replaced Hernandez in 1998. Hernandez returned to the band in 2003, as Langford had left the band in 2001. Read more on Last.fm
(No review.)
listened twice, barely noticed. don’t remember a gd thing about it.
Mercer is best known for the sort of shimmering, evening pop one can insert quite arbitrarily into whatever indie film needs its weightless bounce. That’s not what this record is. This is someone getting some distance from their past, like it or not. It’s not the revolution some people want it to be, nor is it lacking in charm. What it might be is a decadent stab at something more from someone who could have played it safe. Regardless, its not on par with previous outings…and therefore regulated to 3 measly stars…that extra one being for effort. 🙁
Holy crap I’ve waited for this album for entirely too long. It has the vibe and feel indicative of a Shins album and I love it. I think I might have had a smile on my face throughout the whole play through of this album. James Mercer’s voice is one of my favorites to listen to, that with the production by Greg Kurstin make this album worth the ridiculous 5 year wait. On a technical note this is one of the cleanest studio mixes I’ve heard in a long time, so freaking good.