Debut full length from this New Mexico quartet is a classy retro pop offering with deft psychedelic touches. The Shins have been favourably compared to early Pink Floyd, Love and Moby Grape. Features the single 'New Slang'.

• Mojo (1/02, p.68) - Ranked #14 in Mojo's "Best [40] Albums of 2001".
  Rolling Stone (8/16/01, p.105) - 3.5 stars out of 5 - "...Their pop songs jangle without being too sunny....These 11 songs whiz by in a gorgeous blur, over far too soon."
  Q (May 2002, pp.119-121) - 3 out of 5 stars - "...The Shins fall into the folk category, focusing on hazy Beach Boys pop and swooning Simon & Garfunkel harmonies..."
  Mojo (9/01, p.99) - "...[Their] lovely jangly appeal is all their own..."
  NME (5/18/02, p.35) - 8 out of 10 - "...Evokes the shimmering coastlines and baked desertscapes of California with a vivid beauty seldom glimpsed since The Beach Boys hung up their surfboards..."
  CMJ (8/01, p.89) - "...Palpable, '60s-influenced jangle pop....one of the most consistently enjoyable takes on Brian Wilson..."

This is an Enhanced audio CD, which contains regular audio tracks and multimedia computer files.
The Shins: Marty Crandall, Neal Langford, James Mercer, Jesse Sandoval.
Additional personnel includes: Melanie Crandall (cello); Neils Galloway (French horn); David Hernandez (bass).
The Shins appeared out of the middle of New Mexico as if by magic, though they had been around for a while under several other names on several different labels. In a landscape of boy bands, pre-teen chanteuses, and nu metal, the literate, '60s-influenced jangle of the Shins' debut seems a bizarre anomaly. This is indie rock that channels Love and Creation rather than the Ramones and Sex Pistols.
Standouts include "One by One All Day," with its Space Invader intro, rattling drums, and retro keyboard solo, the gentle "Weird Divide," which highlights James Mercer's Brian Wilson-esque voice, and "Your Algebra," with its echoing vocals and guitar arpeggios. Arguably, the album's best track is "New Slang," which begins with the lines "Gold teeth and a curse for this town are all in my mouth/Only I don't know how they got out." For listeners with a computer, the disc also contains a charming if very low-fi video for "New Slang."

In the late 1990s, the Albuquerque indie-rock band Flake Music morphed into the Shins, led by vocalist-guitarist James Mercer. Upon the release of 2001's OH, INVERTED WORLD, the Shins garnered a landslide of critical acclaim with their amiable, 1960s-influenced power-pop. Subsequent touring further raised the group's profile, and their eagerly awaited sophomore album, CHUTES TOO NARROW, revealed another set of clever and quirky pop-rock ditties. A prominent spot in Zach Braff's 2004 indie film sensation GARDEN STATE exploded the band's fanbase and third record debuted in the top ten without sacrificing critical raves. The Shins even scored an unlikely chart hit in 2007's "Phantom Limb."