The band moved from New Mexico to the "indie rock capitol" of portland in 2002. Their much-anticipated followup, Chutes Too Narrow, was released in October of ?03 in the U.S. and a half-year later across the pond to gushing reviews that matched if not exceeded their debut effort.
Ironically enough, their poppier more-accesible sophomore release would be overshadowed by the prominent appearance of two Inverted tracks, "Caring Is Creepy,? and "New Slang" in the Zach Braff?s dramedy Garden State. Particularly, "New Slang" received a significant callout as the movie's heroine, Natalie Portman, slips a pair of headphones on Zach Braff and proclaims "...this song will change your life".
The film and soundtrack brought ?indie? to the wider twenty-something audience and created a comparably massive fan-base for The Shins as well as a number of other artists featured on the album. Namely labelmates Iron & Wine, who cover Sub Pop's The Postal Service. (Such Great Heights)
Also, several Shins tracks have appeared in Scrubs, the popular comedy starring Zach Braff. Most notably New Slang, in Scrubs' very first season.
More recently, The Shins roster has expanded to include Eric Johnson of The Fruit Bats (Sub Pop). And also in April of 09 Joe Plummer of Modest Mouse fame and Bassist Ron Lewis of Grand Archives replaced Marty Crandall and Jesse Sandoval. In addition, Anita Robinson of Viva Voce has appeared on stage and on-record lending female harmonies to the new single "Phantom Limb."
Their newest endeavor, entitled Wincing the Night Away, was released on January 23, 2007. The album leaked on October 20, 2006, and was also put up for purchase on iTunes two weeks prior to its release on January 9, 2007. The album was taken down a day later. Produced by Phil Ek in Seattle, Wincing is a return to the more dreamy, psychedelic, layered sound of Inverted but retains Mercer's penchant for romantic, allusionary lyricism and inventive pop progressions.
Wincing debuted spectacularly on the Billboard charts at #2, selling 118,000 copies, leading to both the highest debut in the band and their label Sub Pop's history.
More information:
*http://www.theshins.com
*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Shins
From Wikipedia:The Shins are an American indie rock band comprising singer, songwriter, and guitarist James Russell Mercer, guitarist/bassist Dave Hernandez, Eric Johnson of the Fruit Bats, drummer Joe Plummer and bassist Ron Lewis. Their sound draws on several musical genres, including pop, alternative rock, alternative country, and folk. The Shins were formed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, but are now based in Portland, Oregon.