The Shins

Group / 1997 - present / United States

indie rock indie pop folk pop indie folk psychedelic pop rock

Biography

The Shins are 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, Mark Watrous, Patti King (keyboards), and Jon Sortland (drums). They are based in Portland, Oregon.

Source: Wikipedia -- text available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Image via Wikipedia -- The Shins.

Elsewhere

Analysed songs (10)

Australia

The Shins

A deceptively upbeat, jangly pop song that uses escapism and evolutionary/existential language to talk about…

existential doubt escapism entrapment vs. freedom

Caring Is Creepy

The Shins

A woozy, image-dense monologue about self-protection and emotional avoidance dressed up in surreal, almost dreamlike language.…

emotional avoidance self-deception aging and inertia

Gone for Good

The Shins

A breakup song built as a farewell letter from someone who has already decided to leave, delivered with a mix of relief,…

disillusionment with commitment self-justification after leaving emotional withdrawal

Know Your Onion!

The Shins

A fast, breathless rush of a song about salvaging a self out of adolescent isolation through music and books, then pushing that…

adolescent alienation self-invention through art escape and departure

New Slang

The Shins

A hushed, melodically sweet song about romantic regret and a wish to shed adult disappointment carries lyrics that are far more…

regret and self-recrimination longing for innocence small-town disillusionment

Saint Simon

The Shins

The song works through a small crisis of faith and philosophy, weighing inherited belief systems and intellectual frameworks…

religious doubt intellectual disillusionment self-reliance

Simple Song

The Shins

A love song built on plain, almost naive declarations that gradually reveal a deeper argument about vulnerability and rescue.…

romantic gratitude vulnerability vs. toughness rescue and renewal

So Says I

The Shins

A dense, imagistic broadside against utopian thinking, disguised as a fever dream. James Mercer stacks surreal images and civic…

failed utopia capitalism's corrosion of idealism collective disillusionment

The Past and Pending

The Shins

A slow, wintry closer to Oh, Inverted World, this song watches a relationship dissolve in slow motion, using imagery of fire,…

dissolution of intimacy emotional exhaustion the failure of language/analysis to save love

We Will Become Silhouettes

The Shins

A survivalist's bunker monologue set to an oddly buoyant melody, this song imagines nuclear or environmental apocalypse as a…

apocalypse and isolation denial and coping through routine loss of a loved one