The Shins

Since then it's been a book you read in reverse
So you understand less as the pages turn
Or a movie so crass and awkwardly cast
That even I could be the star

I don't look back much as a rule
And all this way before murder was cool
But your memory is here and I'd like it to stay
Warm light on a winter's day

all five albums matter to me, though I'm not too fond of the new single

I'm pleased that their best song is named after me

it’s funny to see everyone posting lyrics, cause i always felt they were evocative, but ultimately just there to adorn the melody, a.c. newman-style. mercer can definitely turn a memorable phrase, though.

and yeah, saint simon is one of their very best, along with gone for good, pink bullets, and young pilgrims

for me it's

When our kite lines first crossed
we tied 'em into knots
To finally fly apart
we had to cut them off

and later

The years have seemed short but the days go slowly by
Two loose kites falling from the sky
Drawn to the ground and an end to flight.

I agree the third album has lots of good stuff, though it obviously isn't on the same level as the first two.

I thought the most recent album - Heartworms, I had to go look it up - was better than expected (and better than the one before it). And the last show I saw was a blast after a couple that ... weren't.

James never really recovered from firing all the dudes he came up with, did he?

love that quite southwestern mishearing of New Slang, fgti

i always felt they were evocative, but ultimately just there to adorn the melody, a.c. newman-style. mercer can definitely turn a memorable phrase, though.

yeah - while I love the first two records this has prevented me from getting more into them tbh, newman/pornos too. the melodies are stunning, but after a certain point I get kind of exhausted keeping up with the lyrical phrasing, all those long breathless runs of syllables that cover every note of every melody, it can feel like speedreading with the TV on in the background.

'Turn A Square' is my choice for POO: The Shins. I'll never get tired of that one.

I didn't and don't care much for Chutes (or anything lacking the hazy mood of Inverted), but "Saint Simon" is totally gorgeous

And yeah, this band and AC Newman, same field but Carl outclasses The Shins always

And yeah, straight-facedly quoting Shins lyrics only makes me realize "the guy is not a writer"

first two albums are their best but "phantom limb" is their best song

Wincing up to and including "Turn On Me" is the Shins stuff I return to most these days

listening to Wincing for the first time in 10 years rn

this record is still very good. like there's nothing wrong with a B+ after two A+ albums.

Australia and Phantom Limb and Turn On Me are all-timer tunes

Wincing is the only one that really grabbed me but I’m a sucker for all the Cure/Smiths influences on that album.

Same here, and I had never been able to pinpoint exactly why that album felt so different. It also swings oddly in the rhythm section.

R.I.P. former Shins/Flake Music bassist Neal Langford.