The pale white hospital walls envelope Sam (Natalie Portman) while sitting next to Largeman (Zach Braff). Looking at each other with instant curiosity, he simply asks, “What are you listening to?” The wide-eyed Sam responds, “The Shins, you know em’?” “No.” She then decides to place her bright-red headphones over his ears, Sam says, “You got to listen to this one song, it will change your life.”
The direction then commences to narrowing in on Largeman’s face as The Shins song “New Slang” melts deliciously into his ears. As the song begins to evolve, lyrics smoothly follow, “Gold teeth and a curse for this town were all in my mouth. Only, I don’t know how they got out, dear…”
Whether watching the film Garden State was the first time you heard of “The Shins” or if it was by self-discovery, the point is, this alternative-indie band will succumb to your ears.
The Shins will grace their presence in El Paso, Texas at Tricky Falls, 209 S. El Paso Street on Wednesday, March 20th at 8 p.m. They are expected to fill this venue. The acoustic melodic sounds will bounce off the old theatre’s walls all in which to enhance your Shins experience.
The once Albuquerque based-band, now in Portland, OR, has been creating music since 1997. The Shins is the brain child of James Mercer, lead-singer of The Shins, throughout the years which obtained off and on-occurring band members.
Currently, the band consists of Joe Plummer (drummer), Yuuki Matthews (bassist), Jessica Dobson (guitarist) and Richard Swift (on keyboards). This is the group that has cooperated with Mercer to create music in the field going on for 16 years.
In 2001, “Oh Inverted World” was The Shins’ first debuted album and contained their well-known songs such as “New Slang” and “Caring is Creepy.” These songs were both included in the 2004 Garden State movie soundtrack, as previously mentioned.
It took the release of the Garden State soundtrack to make major buzz on The Shins. Since then, The Shins created “Shoots Too Narrow” (2003) and “Wincing the Night Away” (2007).
As a result, the release of Wincing the Night Away landed a spot in the Billboard Top-200 and was even nominated for a Grammy in 2008 labeled under best alternative music album.
With a curious green monster, yellow robot, pink flower bubble, and a red Cyclops, The Shins have even made an appearance on Nickelodeon’s Yo Gabba Gabba showing kids “It’s Okay (to) Try Again.”
Other television appearances include MTV’s “The OC“ and ABC Family’s “Gilmore Girls.” The Shins have also made it on the big screen, including Jason Lee’s “A Guy Thing” and even the G-Rated SpongeBob SquarePants Movie.
And just as an FYI, since they are known for their happy and optimistic acoustic upbeats, The Shins’ “The Past and Pending” song was played at Heath Ledger’s funeral.
During those five years and a small hiatus, Mercer worked a side project known as Broken Bells (2010) in which he collaborated with Brian Burton, part of Danger Mouse, which contrastingly contains a more electronic feel. Its sound is very different from the calm and melodic attitude of The Shins, but it is worth the listen.
The Shins’ fourth studio album in 11 years, Port of Marrow (2012) takes a turn in a more elaborated and evolved notion from their previous work. With co-producer Greg Kurstin, Mercer lets in a new wave of sounds and melodies in an advanced way.
According to Pitchfork’s review of the album, “Mercer delivers the goods, mostly by being himself. He’s either missed out on the last few years of indie’s ever-shifting micro trends…And thank fucking god for that. More so than any other Shins album, Port of Morrow doesn’t sound like it belongs to any particular decade.”
Having been on hiatus for quite some time, die-hard fans are most likely expecting the same sound from their previous work. However, what they got instead was a more progressed Mercer.
With this new album, The Shins proved that they are back and better than ever. Tickets can still be bought at Tricky Falls and through Ticketmaster. So don’t be left out yet relish this remarkable band.
THE SHINS
MARCH 20, 2013
TRICKY FALLS
209 S. El Paso St.
El Paso, Texas 79901
http://www.ticketmaster.com/event/0C004A3EF84DF8D1?artistid=821323&majorcatid=10001&minorcatid=1
TEXT: ISABEL ALEMAN