The Shins - Chutes Too Narrow

The Shins
Chutes Too Narrow
Sub Pop Records
Grade: A-

When Clay Aiken shares lyrical brilliance like, "Hey butterfly, open up your weary eyes," and "Everybody knows shadows fall across the sun sometimes/Shine, you're gonna shine," then you really start to get a stronger appreciations for the poetry of The Shins. Coming out of Albuquerque, NM, though spread out a bit now, the Shins started out as a side project of singer James Mercer and cronies. After other fuller-time bands disbanded, the Shins finally cemented in 1999. The first Shins album, Oh Inverted World, was incredible. Indie pop of a beautiful and melodic subtlety. So I personally wanted their latest, Chutes Too Narrow, to avoid sophomore tendencies to grow and evolve and instead be more of the same. Unfortunately, they do decide to go for a more mature sound. Everyone I ask says the second album is even better than the first (n=2), but I personally still love Oh Inverted World more. The first two tracks on CTN are among the biggest departures for the Shins - more aggressive, more uptempo - I like the album better when I skip these over. The next tracks - "So Says I," "Young Pilgrims," and "Saint Simon" - are among my favorites in that they are much more in the aesthetic of the first album. Among these, "Young Pilgrims" comes closest to beauty of the Best Shins Song Ever - "New Slang." Other songs stray more from this sound - "Fighting in a Sack" is cool and has a great harmonica section. "Gone for Good" has a country vibe that works well with the Shins' sound. Anyway, even though the first tracks are not very lovable, the overall album is still one of the better ones in my collection.