The Shins - Chutes Too Narrow

Arriving on a wave of pre-release hype in 2001, The Shins' debut record, Oh! Inverted World, immediately established itself as one of the most uniformly and universally likeable records of that year. Though not nearly the second coming of The Beach Boys as described by its most vocal proponents, the album was forged in melody and drenched in atmosphere, casting a thin but palpable haze over a beautifully arranged landscape of sincere hooks and sparse instrumentation. It was an immediately inviting formula, if one that ultimately proved limiting; the blurred sonics that blanketed the record also often smothered it, dulling the focus and clarity that frontman James Mercer skirted during the album's most powerful passages.
On Chutes Too Narrow, the blanket has been lifted, and the complexity and grace revealed underneath possess a surprisingly depth. Every instrument is allowed to exist in its own space, no longer smoothed together by excessive reverb. Mercer's voice resides comfortably at the front of the mix, revealing previously undiscovered layers of emotional subtlety and expressiveness. Every sound and syllable is perfectly and distinctly articulated, granting the album a much greater capacity for detail and profundity. The attention to detail on Chutes Too Narrow is truly impressive, but the way that these details combine to form music so effortless and emotionally rich is astounding. Chutes Too Narrow is host to enough perfect moments to carry ten records, each one arising spontaneously from the multifaceted frame of a masterfully constructed song. The album may alienate some listeners by eschewing the instant and consistent gratification of Oh! Inverted World for more involved, developed songs, but the clarity and intricacy of these songs renders the record a much more rewarding listen. Not simply an excellent album, Chutes Too Narrow is also a powerful testament to pop music's capacity for depth, beauty and expressiveness.

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