The Shins - something about everything

After the last Norah post and an unplanned discourse on masculinity issues on this blog (which is at a historical low at the moment), zhu and I agreed we need to turn our attention to the non-female side of musicdom, males and Martians qualify. And so this post seems well called for and very appropriate to me (all smug), since our other problem, besides having polarized ear-brain connection that respond all too strongly to female sounds and little else, is that we tend to blog about artists we already take every opportunity to rave to each other about anyway (we here refers to two nutcases that’s zhu and me, but anyone is welcome to join the collective, non-extant *grin* emoticon). Blogging is hence just making babbling a little more coherent (and less scandalous) and take it to the next level. I say we do something about the growing list of each of our new favourites, now.

aww these guys ain't glamorous rock-star looking, I know, but they rock!

The Shins is a relatively new and extremely delightful new find of mine (though the band started way back in 1997 as Flake Music.) My shame at my slowness is slightly mitigated by the fact that the indie band’s profile was greatly boosted when two of their tracks were featured on the critically acclaimed 2004 indie film Garden State (Zach Braff, Natalie Portman), which I love, and which was how their sounds first reached my nerve endings a year ago. Since then they have become an absolute favourite.

As to their sounds and discography…here is where my musical vocabulary becomes a limiting reagent, so I’ll quote wikipedia instead.

The Shins' first album was 2001's Oh, Inverted World, released to critical acclaim for its lyrically deft, jangly pop sound. Dave Hernandez, former member of Scared of Chaka, joined the group following the departure of bassist Neal Langford. Chutes Too Narrow followed in 2003 to much fanfare in indie music circles, featuring even more multi-layered lyrical inventions and a musical approach that explored new genres, song structures, and levels of production fidelity.

and this bit is fun..

The Shins played a critically acclaimed show at the historic Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, with Scotland's Belle and Sebastian on July 6, 2006. Both bands described playing at the venue as a career highlight. During live shows, the band members (particularly Crandall and Hernandez) are known to frequently swap instruments, making it somewhat difficult to define their exact roles in the band.

Oh, Inverted World

Chutes Too Narrow

The exciting news is that their next record, Wincing the Night Away is set for release on January 23, 2007 (soon!!). It was said to have been leaked to the internet but I'm totally waiting for the official release--I'll buy that as the first record in a hiatus of three years not of buying any music. I'll put up a few tracks for you guys to sample when the connection gets better (yelling for help from zhu!). Before that, please contend with this teeny tiny radio. (toothy emoticon =d)



Update: A sample of Young Pilgrim (zhu's pick) and Turn a square (mine) from Chutes Too Narrow is ready here, thanks to zhu! Expires around 7 Jan, old disclaimer apply. =d