After abruptly catching my attention and the many who did not miss 2001's debut "Oh Inverted World," The Shins return with their sophomore effort entitled "Chutes to Narrow." The album moved recording locations form the hot baking sun of Albuquerque, New Mexico, to the rainproof basement of Shins front man James Mercer's new Portland Oregon home studio. Mercer was at the helm and brought in Phil Ek (Built to Spill, Modest Mouse) to mix it up. The Quintet also made a quarter of a line up change dropping bassist Neal Langford and filling the hole with Dave Hernandez (Scared of Chalka) whom contributed the boom to thier 2001 hit "New Slang."
"Chutes to Narrow," opens with "Kissing the Lipless," which begins with strand of hand claps and a overly excited "Woo!" as a light acoustic guitar with some calm melodic harmonies sung by Mercer hold the intro, which are then interrupted by a barrage of isolated electric power chords in cadence with some tom tom hits, then the song urgently kicks in with Mercer’s high pitched vocals backed by sizzling guitar leads, booming bass and a heavy beat. In the second verse the songs wakes up with added vibes and spacey lullaby leads mixed with dreamy vocals slowly wash the song to the end.
The single "So Says I" is an urgent paced rocker where Mercer states "We got rules and maps and guns in our backs but we still can't behave ourselves. Even if to save our own lives. So Says I, WE ARE A BRUTAL KIND." The complex song works nicely with the tragic opera in Mercer's mind spewing out a arsenal of lyrics against, the highly energetic, and quickly changing musical arrangements.
“Saint Simon,” Begins with a Beatles-esque offbeat piano guitar strut with Mercer exclaiming “I don’t have the time nor mind to figure out the nursery rhymes that help us out making sense of our lives.” The step into the night “La, La, La,” chorus is amazing, eerily fluttering about embracing a steady ride, it’s lyrics bringing Bowie to mind amidst the glassy strings and intricate layering of sounds, which sound as if Brian Wilson had joined the Jam.
“Turn a Square” is filled with a grunge Beach Boys sound with tight bass hooks, chaotic guitars and manic rolling drums, with quick stops and starts delivering a fun-filled rocker.
"Those to Come," closes the disc with Mercer singing against a gentle guitar, and a distant and distorted Casio keyboard line, which is the most brilliant track on the album with it's dramatic chorus where Mercer sings "They are cold, still ,waiting in the ether to form, feel, kill, propogate, only to die.” Like all classic songs it ends with some whistling. "Those to Come," and a B-side off the single "So Says I," called "Mild Child" really showcase Mercer's solo singer songwriter abillities striped down of the Shins urgency, he really stands tall, with out the bands added playfulness.
The recording quality is high end, where "Oh Inverted World," had a dreamy make shift sound "Chutes to Narrow," comes in crisp and clean but not over produced. The swirling keyboards sounds off "Oh Inverted World," are missed through out these songs and "Chutes to Narrow," doesn't play through as well as their debut, but certain tracks, hold their own, making this 10 song thirty-minute effort well worthwhile. |