The Shins

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About The Shins

Combining psychedelia-indebted jangle pop with sugary melodies and cryptic lyrics, The Shins have been one of indie rock’s most compelling groups since their 2001 debut album, Oh, Inverted World. Singer James Mercer formed the band in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 1996, as an aside to his main project, Flake Music. The infectious lead single “New Slang” heralded The Shins’ arrival, scored them a record deal and later exploded in popularity after its inclusion in the 2004 film Garden State. Mercer’s poetic and heartfelt words, buoyed by the band’s rich arrangements, made a generation of early-2000s romantics fall in love with their records. The Shins remain vital by keeping those core gifts intact no matter where their experimental spirit takes them—through dreamy psych folk on 2003’s Chutes Too Narrow, the heavier rock sounds of 2007’s Wincing the Night Away or the punchy, left-field pop of 2017’s Heartworms.

FORMED
1996
GENRE
Alternative
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