- Album list
- Singer Intro
The Shins are an American indie rock band formed in Albuquerque, New Mexico in 1996. The band's current lineup consists of James Mercer (vocals, guitar, songwriter), Jon Sortland (drums), Mark Watrous (guitar), Casey Foubert (guitar), Yuuki Matthews (bass), and Patti King (keyboards). The band is based in Portland, Oregon.
The band was formed by Mercer as a side project to Flake Music, who were active from 1992 to 1999. The band released two 7' 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 they were signed to Sub Pop Records. The band's 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 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.
Musical style and influences
Mercer described the Shins as a 'pop project' from the beginning. The group were inspired by any and all music that they discovered. 'Everything we listen to [...] makes its way in somehow, but we've been inspired by a bunch of bands who basically just keep reinventing the same thing,' said Mercer. The group received comparisons to the 'pop revivalists' at the Elephant 6 Recording Collective early in their career, such as The Apples in Stereo, whilst Mercer's vivid, often surrealist lyrics and infectious melodies drew comparisons to the songwriting style of Robert Pollard from Guided by Voices. Rolling Stone credited the band with bringing 'the pop traditions of 1960s pop bands — groups like the Zombies, and the Beach Boys — to a new generation of music fans.'
Members
Current
James Mercer – lead vocals, guitar (1996–present)
Yuuki Matthews – bass guitar, keyboards, backing vocals (2011–present)
Mark Watrous – guitar, keyboards, backing vocals (2014–present)
Casey Foubert – guitar (2016–present)
Jon Sortland – drums (2016–present)
Patti King – keyboards (2016–present)
Former
Jesse Sandoval – drums, percussion (1996–2009)
Martin Crandall – keyboards, bass guitar, backing vocals (1998–2009)
Dave Hernandez – guitar, bass guitar, backing vocals (1998–2000, 2003–2009)
Neal Langford – bass guitar (2000–2003)
Eric Johnson – piano, keyboards, guitar, banjo, backing vocals (2007–2011)
Ron Lewis – bass guitar (2009–2011)
Jessica Dobson – guitar, backing vocals (2011–2013)
Joe Plummer – drums, percussion, backing vocals (2009–2016)
Richard Swift – keyboards, piano, organ, synthesizers, percussion, drone box, backing vocals (2011–2016)
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