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The Shins get their bearings
by
LORRAINE
CARPENTER
 After
nine years together on the indie circuit, formerly as Flake and Flakemusic,
the Shins are proud parents of a debut album, Oh, Inverted World. The
New Mexican quartet formed Flake in the shaggy days of indie rock, but
the slacker sound soon gave way to tight pop with loose, swirly textures,
the kind Brian Wilson might approve of, and the kind that led to a sweet
deal with Subpop. Neither strictly retro nor blindly trendy, neither
penniless indie nor dumbass major, the Shins are like the porridge Goldilocks
chose, and it tastes pretty damn good. The Mirror called up singer-songwriter
James Mercer in his hometown of Albuquerque to discuss all things Shins.
Mirror:
Why Oh, Inverted World?
James Mercer: It’s a lyric from “One by
One All Day” which kind of refers to an aunt of mine who killed
herself. She was this wonderful, wonderful woman who was physically
attractive beyond all get-out and super-sensitive and intelligent, and
of course she killed herself, of course she did because that’s
the way the logic of the world seems to work sometimes.
M:
Mmmm. So let me get this straight: you had Flake, the Shins was a side
project, then the other Shins left town, and the Flakes became the new
Shins. Okay, but why did you form the Shins in the first place?
JM: Some of our friends were in a great band called
Henry’s Dress and I was really influenced by their method, which
was being very perfectionist about their songwriting and how they presented
themselves, whereas Flake was very half-assed and half drunk at the
time. I was also listening to a lot of older music, so I started writing
as if it were 1960 and then I would introduce those songs to Flake down
in the basement and it just didn’t work, so I had to have another
vehicle for that.
M:
The ’60s influence is really clear, from pop to psychedelia.
JM: Yeah, I like crazy music, psychedelic bands like
Pink Floyd and the Beatles stuff that’s more contemporary.
M:
And the Beach Boys, obviously.
JM: You know, I was really surprised that people heard
that in the record, but I’m flattered because I love the Beach
Boys. It’s funny because my mom’s friend’s kid, who’s
10, listened to the record and said, “Is this the Beach Boys?”
And kids don’t lie—or at least they’re not reading
all the reviews.
M:
What’s Albuquerque like?
JM: It’s a desert town, kinda like Tucson or
Phoenix but with less money. There’s a lot of crime and gang activity
but it’s really cool, partly because white people are a minority
so it’s got a very different feel to it than most American towns.
And there’s a creative drive that I get out of this area—I
live in Portland now but my folks are here so I’m down a lot—but
I’m not somebody who goes out into the desert with my guitar and
sits on a rock. :
With
Beachwood Sparks and Halifax Pier at la Sala Rossa on Thursday, July
25, 9pm, $15
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