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The Shins music biography continued...

under the name Flake Music, the group originally featured singer-songwriter James Mercer, bassist Neal Langford, keyboardist Martin Crandall, and drummer Jesse Sandoval. They released one album, When You Land Here, It's Time To Return (1997) before changing their name to the Shins and signing a deal with Sub Pop Records. Released in 2001, the Shins' proper debut, Oh, Inverted World, was a critical success, with haunting pop numbers such as "New Slang" and "Caring is Creepy." The album even caught the attention of McDonald's — which placed "New Slang" in a television spot. After touring behind World, the band parted ways with Langford and brought in Dave Hernandez to work on Chutes Too Narrow (2003). The Shins' big breakthrough came in 2004, when two of the group's songs were included in the charming Zach Braff film Garden State. The film's soundtrack was certified platinum, though its success bothered some Shins fans, some of whom felt that the band's appeal was partly due to its well-kept secrecy. Three years later, The Shins released Wincing the Night Away (2007), which debuted at Number Two on the Billboard sales chart, a first in Sub Pop history, and received a Grammy nomination for Best Alternative Album, officially signaling the band's arrival to the mainstream.



In 2008, The Shins left Sub Pop, their longtime label, for James Mercer's Aural Apothecary. Now based in Portland, Oregon, the band continues to perform and record their own special blend of indie rock, which is a heady blend of pop, alternative and folk. All Music Guide calls it: "Retro pop nuggets that distill the finer aspects of classic acid rock with surrealistic lyrics, independently melodic bass lines, jangly guitars, echo laden vocals, minimalist keyboard motifs, and a myriad of cosmic sound effects." Unfortunately for them, their original cadre fans couldn't keep them a secret from the music-loving world.