Oh yeah. I remember seeing that name awhile back but never looked it up. Thanks.

I love them so much I think I might marry them all, and thus coining the term G.ay Mormon.

Fav songs-
1. Kissing the Lipless
2. Phantom Limb
3. New Slang
4. Sleeping Lessons
5. Turn a Square
6. Caring is Creepy
7. Turn on Me
8. Australia
9. Saint Simon
10. Know Your Onion!

They sound a bit odd at first, but one day I was driving and Phantom Limb came on the radio, and I said, God, this is really, really, really 'f'ing good.

Every single album by them is just so damn good by them. I am getting very impatient waiting for their fourth album. Speaking of that, does anyone know when they will be coming out with another album.

I didn't even know they were coming out with a new album until now. Thanks kid!
I own Phantom Limb and Chutes too Narrow and really enjoy both of the albums. The Shins always are able to put me in a good mood. Does anybody have information on the new album?

James Mercer apparently fired most of the band recently because he wanted to move in a different direction, production-wise. Sounds like a reason to start a new band, not fire the rest of the guys. But whatever, I don't know the ins and outs.

Pitchfork: Shins' James Mercer Spills About Lineup Changes, New Album, Other Projects

I'm always anxious for new Shins material and I'm curious what new direction he plans to go. Hopefully not too ego-centric.

I am curious to see what it would be like if they made a more poppy album. They got some indie/pop stuff but I wonder what it would be like if they cranked that up a notch. A really mellow album would be cool too. As long as they stay fun like they always have been.

EDIT: And thanks for the linky pal.

Yeeez. Big fan for some years now. Can't wait for the next album, though it will probably be a while because Mercer is doing some stuff with Danger Mouse at the moment. Which is ****.

Anyways, fav songs are, well, them all.

But if I had to pick some, it would be Saint Simon, Australia, So Says I, A Comet Appears, New Slang, Phantom Limb, Turn On Me and Red Rabbits.

Yeah apparently Mercer "dismissed" the rest of the band because he wants to try something new. That's what side projects and new bands are for, jerk!

So who knows how long it'll be and what it'll sound like.

Aww... Danger Mouse isn't ****, if that's what you meant. I enjoyed The Grey Album, and Demon Days and Modern Guilt kicked ass. DANGERDOOM was ****ing hilarious and wonderful.

But yeah, that was a **** move on Mercer's part. Hopefully he gets a band that's as good, because I thought The Shins were great the way they were. Saint Simon, Caring Is Creepy, Sleeping Lessons, Kissing The Lipless, Phantom Limb, and Mine's Not a High Horse are my favorites. Let's hope there's something new before too too long.

They won't be the same...

James Mercer is one sappy mofo. The rest of the band really made me love The Shins. Especially live, the guys were so fun! I don't have high expectations for the new album.

I'm thinking if he had enough power to fire everyone else and continue to use the name, 99% of the writing in the band was his. So, I'm not very worried, I'm sure it'll be great, just like all of their/his other stuff.

nature bears a vaccuum

Yes, I was disappointed to read that Mercer wanted the changes for aesthetic reasons. I don't understand why he couldn't just say to the band, hey, guys, let's try this new style, and the musicians, all capable, would be able to do it. Maybe they simply had developed different artistic visions? Well, it does seem to me that he should just call the group "The Shin," now.

You're probably right, adidasss. Still, in their one video I've watched quite a bit because it is my current fixation ("Kissing the Lipless"), I find I feel an affinity for the actual people playing...especially the smiling rhythm guitarist. I wonder, is he still part of the band? I don't really know who's who. I'm sure the new people can play the music the same as previous band members...but the fact that the original people who played won't all be together, able to enjoy what they created, makes me a little sad...kind of like they've been forced to give up a baby for adoption.


Wait...is this...is this perhaps "nature abhors a vacuum?" I thought nature "bears" a vacuum was cute, though, barbonodude!

Those are some of my favorites as well.

And yeah maybe Mercer wrote most of the material, but that doesn't mean other musicians will meld as nicely with whatever he writes.

Either way I'm anxious to hear something new. And who knows, the other guys may form a new band, which I'd definitely be interested in hearing too.

haha no, Nature Bears a Vacuum is the name of their first 7" which is by far my favorite recording by them. Recorded in one of the dudes rooms on an 8 track i believe.

My all time favourite band!
favourites.....
Caring is Creepy
Phantom Limb
New Slang
Girl on a Wing
Gone for Good
Young Pilgrim
So Says I

but you guys know they've split up right??
Mercer's going to be collaboratin with Danger Mouse next year or something?!!

Have you read the other posts on this page?

Does anyone know why they're leaving Sub Pop? I think they fit really well with the sound of the label and it seems strange for a band to suddenly decide to start self producing albums when they've found a label they work well with. Maybe they wanted the whole band to stay...

Hmm don't know. Did Mercer start a label perhaps?

Fairly insipid music, in my opinion. I don't mind having it in the background from time to time, but it really doesn't do anything for me emotionally.

While I like them if you were talking about Chutes Too Narrow, I would partially agree with you. The other ones have a melancholy mood that I think deserves more praise than that. I still like Chutes Too Narrow, but it doesn't have the weight of the others.

Oh! I see! Heh heh. Sorry...I thought you were making a cute error in quoting a cliche. I've only really listened to two of The Shins' songs...so I'll have to go check out "Nature Bears a Vacuum" now.

Hmm...I haven't listened to enough of The Shins to know much about the depth of their subject matter, although I do recall StoryMilo said it is light stuff. While I like the sound of "Kissing The Lipless" very much, I must admit I have almost no idea what the song is actually *about*. In other words, the lyrics seem to describe a friendship that is going down the tubes, but seem to try to spice up the idea by using odd metaphors that I don't comprehend. This didn't prevent me from listening to the song an hour straight the first time I heard it, though, ha ha! (Albeit as background music while doing some other task.)

Also, in The Shins' favor, I very much enjoy their "Kissing the lipless" video that shows some flamboyant, energetic ice skater in the background handling his fall with style and silliness. Again, I don't know what that has to do with the song, but I like to watch that guy skate! Pleasantly quirky.

The Shins?
 

Has anyone heard anything at all about the Shins since their 2007 album, Wincing the Night Away? The most I have heard is that they have left SupPop and will be self-releasing their fourth.

That was an interview from early 2008, though, and I haven't heard anything more recent than that.. Does anyone know if they've broken up or if they're just going Residents on us and not releasing their music?

:confused:

You'd know if you read some of the preceding posts.

Oh ok, I see what you mean. I posted that originally as a new topic, but then it ended up being in this thread, for some reason. I've never done anything forum before, so just bear with me. :o:

First thing to remember: Search is your friend. Welcome.

Hey guys, did you hear about the collaboration between James Mercer and Danger Mouse? They are called Broken Bells, and they released their first single yesterday. You can download it for free at their website, appropriately called brokenbells.com

Let me know what you guys think of it. I for one, love the fact that those two have teamed up. I really like the song too. It is called The High Road. You can also pre order their album on their website too.

Here's the single they released as CheezIt said. Very cool:



I put it in my journal, but did a search on the Shins after and figured to put it in here too since you guys were discussing it. Gonna be looking through this thread and checking out some Shins now. :)

I like it! I can definitely tell the Shins influence, but I don't know Danger Mouse, are they worth checking out?

Danger Mouse is just one guy. I don't know an awful lot about him myself. Just from what I've read, he's produced albums for the Gorillaz and others. He collaborated with MF Doom and is part of Gnarls Barkley too. Not to mention being responsible for the Grey Album which mixed Jay Z's vocals with Beatles songs. (Got all this from wiki I admit.)

So yeah, I'm not too familiar either. Seems like a good pair though, and I know I'm really looking forward to this release. :)

For those who want the new Broken Bells album, I got my hands on it, so PM me if you want it. I am a huge fan of The Shins but not so knowledgeable as far as Danger Mouse goes, but for the most part I am looking forward to where this collaboration will go. I would love for The Shins to release some new material but I think I remember hearing some of the band members leaving or something.

Listening now...pretty cool! I sure will miss The Shins if he's done with that project for good (based on having fired the band, pretty much) but I'm looking forward to hearing this album. Thanks for posting this, Cheez iT and Dieselboy. This is the first I've heard of this project, and was anxious to see/hear where Mercer was going next.

This Broken Bells discussion probably deserves its own thread...after all it's a new band/project.

Edit 2: never mind, looks like there's already a new thread. :thumb:

Best Shins album for a noob who knows relatively nothing about the band? :D

I started with Chutes Too Narrow and was pretty happy with that. I'm not sure what other people might think...

Hmm, they don't have many albums out do they? 3 or 4?
What's their sound like? I know they're an Alternative/Indie band, but I'm looking to find out more specifically.

Chutes Too Narrow, although all 3 are to some degree good.

Chutes Too Narrow x2, I will get a copy and give it a listen. Cheers guys, I hope it's a good listen :D only ever heard a couple of songs from this band

Well, after listening to Chutes Too Narrow, I don't really know what I think. A lot of the melodies were nice enough, I expected the production to be more lo-fi but no big deal. The lyrics, I found them to be strange. They used a lot of imagery and weren't very literal, I find it hard to like the music when I don't understand what they're singing about. I find it quite strange how people can like music without understanding it, like a few chavs who listen to Arctic Monkeys. Arctic Monkeys lyrics are taking the piss out of chavs, yet they don't seem to grasp that.. So yeah, I'd like to understand the lyrics before I really made a judgement but it sounded like the potential had some nice melodies on it.