The Shins: Америкалық инди-рок тобының тарихы

American indie rock band
the American band

The Shins is an American indie rock band formed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 1996. The band is the project of singer songwriter James Mercer, who has served as the band's sole constant member throughout numerous line up changes. The band's current line up consists of Mercer, alongside Yuuki Matthews (bass, keyboards), Mark Watrous (guitar, keyboards, lap steel), Patti King (keyboards), and Jon Sortland (drums). They are based in Portland, Oregon. The band was formed by Mercer as a side project to Flake Music, who were active from 1992 to 1999. Flake Music released two 7 inch singles and a full length album, When You Land Here It's Time to Return, on Omnibus Records and were touring with Modest Mouse when the Shins became signed to Sub Pop Records. The Shins' first two records, Oh, Inverted World (2001) and Chutes Too Narrow (2003), performed well commercially and received critical acclaim. The single "New Slang" brought the band to mainstream attention when it was featured in the 2004 film Garden State. Consequently, the band's third album, Wincing the Night Away (2007), was a major success for the group, peaking at number two on the Billboard 200 and earning a Grammy Award nomination. Following this, the Shins signed to Columbia Records and Mercer parted ways with the entire original lineup, deeming it "an aesthetic decision". Following a near five year hiatus, Port of Morrow, the band's fourth studio album, was released in 2012. Their fifth album, Heartworms, was released in March 2017.

The Shins was formed in 1996 by James Mercer, a member of the band Flake Music in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Flake Music (formerly known simply as Flake) consisted of members guitarist/vocalist James Mercer, drummer Jesse Sandoval, keyboardist Martin Crandall, and bassist Neal Langford. They began performing as a duo alongside Cibo Matto and the American Analog Set. Friends of the band, including Zeke Howard from Love As Laughter and Isaac Brock from Modest Mouse sent record labels cassette demos of the band's songs. Mercer sent a demo to Sub Pop Records in Seattle, Washington, and label co founder Jonathan Poneman caught a concert in San Francisco while the band was on tour with Modest Mouse. Positive press for "New Slang" made the group's debut album one of the most anticipated indie rock albums of 2001, and Sub Pop signed the band in full. The album helped re establish Sub Pop Records as a dominant force in the independent community; the label had been without a marquee artist for many of the prior years. The group spent the rest of the year touring with acts such as Preston School of Industry and Red House Painters. "New Slang" proved to be a "stealth hit", helping Oh, Inverted World move over 100,000 copies within two years, considered remarkable for an independent label; Sub Pop had hoped the record would sell 10,000 copies. The song was featured in a McDonald's advert that aired during the 2002 Winter Olympics, which led to criticism from several corners, among those independent music fans and the band's own hometown alt weekly. The royalties Mercer earned from the commercial allowed him to purchase a home and relocate to Portland, Oregon, where the group built a basement studio and recorded their second album, Chutes Too Narrow (2003). During this period, the group replaced Langford on bass with Dave Hernandez (from Scared of Chaka). Although recording in the basement was less than pleasant, the band found it "cheaper than a real studio". It also became their first album to chart, peaking at number 86 on the Billboard 200. The band extended their tour in support of the song and its popularity. "We saw a change in our audience. By the time we were done touring for Chutes Too Narrow, there was this new interest", said Mercer. "We toured again almost as the soundtrack to that movie, and colleges were all of a sudden interested in us playing on their campuses. We wanted to consummate the new relationship by touring and having a relationship with them. I mean, it just kept growing!" This additional exposure helped Oh, Inverted World move 500,000 units in the United States.

Having worked on The Shins for nearly a decade, Mercer felt exhausted and ready to quit the band. "Mainly I was tired of being right in the middle and everything sort of revolving around me, including the friendship dynamics slash bandmate dynamics and the creative aspect", Mercer explained in 2012. Enjoying the fresh approach with Broken Bells in regard to meeting new musicians, Mercer desired to continue that feeling. Mercer parted ways with longtime bandmates Dave Hernandez, Martin Crandall and Jesse Sandoval, terming it "an aesthetic decision". Sandoval instead told The Portland Mercury he was "unequivocally fired" from the group by Mercer. Mercer would later relate that his decision was "tremendously difficult", but instead wished to view it as a new phase. Mercer began touring with an all new backing band, including fellow songwriters Jessica Dobson and Richard Swift, Modest Mouse drummer Joe Plummer, and Yuuki Matthews from the Crystal Skulls. and lead single "Simple Song" represented the band's best chart performance, peaking within the top 10 on the Alternative Songs chart.

In 2014, The Shins recorded and released a new song, "So Now What", for the soundtrack of Wish I Was Here (directed by Zach Braff of Garden State). Mercer noted to Billboard that he was immensely proud of how the track came out: "I think it's one of the best things I've ever done." That November, a reissue of Flake Music's first album, When You Land Here It's Time to Return, was released. In 2016, the group recorded a cover of the Beatles' "The Word" for the Netflix show Beat Bugs. During this time, Mercer was at work on the band's fifth album, which he felt was closer in sound to the Shins' earlier work than Port of Morrow: "I made a concerted effort on certain songs to fit the palette, to use the palette that I've used historically for the band." The group announced their new album, Heartworms, in January; it was released on March 10, 2017. Former band member Swift died on July 3, 2018. He was admitted to the hospital in June for hepatitis. On September 24, 2020, the band released a new single titled "The Great Divide". In April 2021, a 20th anniversary reissue of Oh, Inverted World was announced for release on June 11, 2021. The reissue was remastered by Bob Ludwig, with Mercer serving as an assistant. A "21st birthday" tour of North America was announced in May 2022, where The Shins played Oh Inverted World in its entirety. Former bassist Neal Langford, who played on Oh Inverted World and in Flake Music with Mercer, died on July 21, 2023, at the age of 50. Mercer announced his death on July 27, describing him in a post to social media as "one of the best friends I've ever had".