In the years since it was released in 2001, I have developed this almost irrational affection for the slim collection of songs that is Oh, Inverted World (11 songs, 32 minutes in and out), especially considering that I have come to be rather lukewarm on the subsequent Shins albums. (Think I should also add here that I have not watched that Garden State movie yet.) Oh, Inverted World is definitely worthy of a place on my pantheon of power-pop albums, among the likes of Big Star’s #1 Record, Teenage Fanclub’s Grand Prix, Sloan’s Between the Bridges, Fountains of Wayne's Utopia Parkway, and a few others.
27. The Shins
Oh, Inverted World [Sub Pop, 2001]
All manners of jangly melodies and power-pop embroidery illuminate Oh, Inverted World and serve as a handy introduction to the charms of the Shins. This carefully stenciled debut of an album proved to be just the ideal turf for lead songsmith James Mercer to fashion his willowy pop songs and narratives of sullen romantic fumbles into a fully-framed portrait of suburban loneliness (or tedium). Scurrying from the nimbleness of zeal that punctuate the whip-smart declaration (“When every other part of life seemed locked behind shutters/ I knew what worthless dregs we all are then”) of “Know Your Onions!” to the tender burlesques that lace the closing “The Past and Pending”, it’s a real credit to the band’s pop instincts that the pensive glow of Oh, Inverted World never does overshadow the hummable melodies and chugging geniality of Mercer’s songwriting; perhaps a way (an admittedly clumsy way) to describe the impression Oh, Inverted World leaves on listeners is that it’s similar to reading the midsummer sonnets penned by someone waking up to the deepest folds of winter. And listening to the wistful guitar strums of album centerpiece “New Slang”, with Mercer singing moodily in a state of befuddlement (“I'm looking in on the good life I might be doomed never to find”), the song seems able to locate or evoke the muffled sensation of a rather hapless existence unfolding and falling into place with its own uncanny momentum of disappointment. The albums that follow Oh, Inverted World may come with more expressive musical directions and be fuzzier for better commercial measure, but it is on their unassuming debut that the Shins have created a power-pop masterwork of introspective scope and undeniable quality.
27. The Shins
Oh, Inverted World [Sub Pop, 2001]
All manners of jangly melodies and power-pop embroidery illuminate Oh, Inverted World and serve as a handy introduction to the charms of the Shins. This carefully stenciled debut of an album proved to be just the ideal turf for lead songsmith James Mercer to fashion his willowy pop songs and narratives of sullen romantic fumbles into a fully-framed portrait of suburban loneliness (or tedium). Scurrying from the nimbleness of zeal that punctuate the whip-smart declaration (“When every other part of life seemed locked behind shutters/ I knew what worthless dregs we all are then”) of “Know Your Onions!” to the tender burlesques that lace the closing “The Past and Pending”, it’s a real credit to the band’s pop instincts that the pensive glow of Oh, Inverted World never does overshadow the hummable melodies and chugging geniality of Mercer’s songwriting; perhaps a way (an admittedly clumsy way) to describe the impression Oh, Inverted World leaves on listeners is that it’s similar to reading the midsummer sonnets penned by someone waking up to the deepest folds of winter. And listening to the wistful guitar strums of album centerpiece “New Slang”, with Mercer singing moodily in a state of befuddlement (“I'm looking in on the good life I might be doomed never to find”), the song seems able to locate or evoke the muffled sensation of a rather hapless existence unfolding and falling into place with its own uncanny momentum of disappointment. The albums that follow Oh, Inverted World may come with more expressive musical directions and be fuzzier for better commercial measure, but it is on their unassuming debut that the Shins have created a power-pop masterwork of introspective scope and undeniable quality.
agreed. definitely their best album.
ReplyDeletetoo many memories attached to this one! btw they posted stills from the upcoming murakami/norwegian wood movie, here: http://community.livejournal.com/murakami/263619.html
ReplyDeletesaw them at fuji rock in the rain. memories!
ReplyDeletenorwegian wood's looking good! my concern is that it'll come off looking commercial, but it shouldn't, given the director's track record.