The Shins

About

Also known as: Shins

The Shins are basically the ongoing creative vision of one person: James Mercer, the Albuquerque born songwriter who has kept the project alive through every lineup shuffle since 1996. Their earliest records, Oh, Inverted World and Chutes Too Narrow, built a devoted following in indie rock circles, but everything changed when "New Slang" landed in the 2004 film Garden State and introduced the band to a much wider audience. That moment of exposure pushed their third album, Wincing the Night Away, all the way to number two on the Billboard 200 and earned a Grammy nomination, a remarkable leap for a band on Sub Pop. After a near five year gap, Mercer rebuilt the lineup from scratch and delivered Port of Morrow in 2012, followed by Heartworms in 2017. The band is rooted in indie rock but pulls in folk pop, psychedelic pop, and plenty of melodic craft. Based in Portland, Oregon, the current lineup features Mercer alongside Yuuki Matthews, Mark Watrous, Patti King, and Jon Sortland.