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One look at the album cover art and you kinda get the feeling that things are a little different in Shins-land. While their debut release had a simple two-color design, this new one has a crazy, colorful, 3d-ish cut-out cover! (Sooo pretty!)
I didn't fall head-over-heels in love with this the way I fell for "Oh, Inverted World". You see, it's their quiet acoustic tracks that really make my heart swoon, and this album isn't quite as pretty. It's much more rockin' and even has a country-feel on some tracks.
But it's still awesome, don't get me wrong! James Mercer still has a knack for quirky, interesting lyrics and killer retro-inspired melodies. In fact, this is probably a much stronger album than their first, as far as the boys are getting a foothold and really maturing as artists and blah blah blah. And, it's growing on me, sure. But I still secretly favor the first CD. (janice.11.03)
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oh, inverted world • sub pop records • 2001
So, here's another CD I've been obsessed with lately. Another CD that I just can't seem to stop listening to. One of the two CDs I bought for Andrew for Christmas. Another CD that I keep taking to work, forcing it on my co-workers, crying, "For God's Sake, this is SO much better than R. Kelly! Can't you people hear?!?!"
But I think the retro charms of The Shins are lost on my co-workers, median age 18. Which is just a crying shame, 'cause this CD rules. We've seen 'em live twice now, and the first time we saw them, the club was so crowded you couldn't even lift your arms from the sides of your body to applaud at the ends of songs. Sheesh! The second time we saw them was on New Year's Eve. This time we got closer to the stage, and lo and behold! Lead vocalist/guitarist James Mercer is a dead-ringer for my husband! : O How spooky is this?
Can't even tell 'em apart, can you? No, seriously, my husband is far more attractive than James. James' eyebrows are way more bushier than Mike's.
(ahem!) So, Oh, Inverted World brings us a delicious batch of summer-y songs, all oozing with a sorta retro 60's-feel to 'em.
It's kinda interesting how the video for their (*cough*) "single" references the covers of many old albums (Slint's Spiderland, The Replacements' Let It Be, etc.), because the whole album itself references other artists, too. "Know Your Onion!" rocks out like a lost Kinks b-side. Heck, "Pressed In a Book" opens with a organ piece that totally rips off The Kinks' "Tired of Waiting For You." "New Slang" is a total Simon & Garfunkel homage. "The Celibate Life" bounces along, bouyed by some psychdelic organ work. (I just love the end part where the vocals echo out like they do...) You could say the whole darn thing evokes a Beach Boys vibe. "The Past and Pending" is a real stand-out on this album for me, with its stark acoustic guitar and the subtle shimmers of french horn in the background. Only the weird choral-like "Your Algebra" makes me reach for the "skip" button on the CD player. It just doesn't fit in with the rest of the CD at all.
So, sure they sound retro, but what's so special about that? Well, it's all in how The Shins modern-ize it and make it work. They're not doing kitsch here (like say, Apples in Stereo, who wear their influences on their sleeves). It's just retro-tinged pop.
Another strength of The Shins that makes 'em stand out is the amazing songwriting from James. Thank god this CD booklet comes with lyrics, because lyrically is where they really shine. Lines like "The untied shoelaces of your life" and "If every moment of our lives/Were cradled softly in the hands of some strange and gentle child/I'd not roll my eyes so." And there's something so odd and charming about James' use of "'a" in "New Slang." (ex. "I'd 'a danced like the king of the eyesores/And the rest of our lives would a' fared well.") How utterly charming is that? ; ) (janice.01.02)
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