| · A sophomore jump.
When the Shins first popped up nearly three years ago with Oh, Inverted World, it was like discovering a lost page in the ’60s British Invasion, flawlessly calling up the spirits of The Easybeats and The Zombies. Each of front man James Mercer’s pristine pop nuggets came out perfectly formed, melodies sticking like summertime gum on the bottom of your shoe. Given how easy they all felt, I’d bet money he’s got a million more just as good.
But then – nothing. Given their reference points, you’d think the Shins would be up for following in their ’60s pop bretheren’s footsteps in terms of both quality and quantity — Lennon/McCartney pumped out albums just as good every six months, for chris’sakes – but for two and a half years, the Shins remained off the radar missing in action.
Chutes Too Narrow, then, has got a lot to live up to. While on first listen it may feel somewhat thin — that cavernous AM-radio production echo from before is replaced by a close-miked sheen – Chutes soon reveals itself as a record every bit as good as its predecessor.
"Saint Simon" runs circles atop a chorus of minor-key multi-tracked vocals, edging towards something epic, while "So Says I" packs in more catchy as heck ideas into three minutes than most groups spread across entire albums.
Sure, maybe there’s nothing quite as instantly timeless and indelible as Inverted World’s "New Slang" (and really, did Ray Davies ever write anything quite as perfect as "Waterloo Sunset?"), but given the charm of the likes of the pedal steel-driven "Gone For Good" and the gorgeously mournful "Pink Bullets" that’s the only minor quibble.
Chutes Too Narrow marks The Shins as the best guitar-pop band going, Mercer proven as the only true successor to the throne of literate cheek and tunefulness set up in Ray Davies’ best years with the Kinks. There’s more than enough here to hold us over for another three years – if that’s what it takes.
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