If Chutes Too Narrow was the Shins’ first album, it would be applauded as great. It would be hailed as a brilliant alt-pop debut from a band brimming with potential.
Unfortunately for the Shins, Chutes is the band’s sophomore release, a project that challenges even the most esteemed and beloved of bands (witness the Strokes’ long-awaited Oct. 28 release Room on Fire). That is not to say that Chutes is in any way bad. It is, in fact, a great album. It just initially comes off as a disappointing follow-up to 2001’s instant classic Oh Inverted World!
While World! was propelled from start to finish by a toe-tapping inertia, Chutes never finds a natural rhythm. Almost every track is near-brilliant, but there is no continuity between tracks. On World! the Shins created just that — an alternative dreamscape of perky melodies and witty sarcasm.
With Chutes the band has returned to the real world, and it’s the world the members know best — the West. Absorbing the country twang that resonates in the band’s hometown of Albuquerque, N.M., the addition of plucky guitar adds another level of depth to an already electric sound. And Chutes doesn’t just evoke images of the Southwest. As the title and cover imply, the album recalls the playfulness and imagination of childhood. “Young Pilgrim,” has the sliding rhythm and bouncing melodies of an empty playground, and the ’50s rock-inspired “Turn a Square” has the attitude of a middle school sock hop.
Though each track on Chutes is an obvious offspring of the Shins, the songs are wildly different. The second track, “Mines Not a High Horse” is a beautiful mess of synth and guitars that could have appeared on World! “Saint Simon” brings down the orchestra hall with a subtle blend of guitar plucks, xylophone and bel canto harmonies. The album ends with a couple of alt-country tracks that are thoughtful and sad enough to place beside Wilco. This is a shocking addition from a band that made its name mastering ’60s Britpop and ’70s Top 40.
There is also the change in lead singer James Mercer’s voice. Mercer’s vocals alone were a reason to worship World!: a shrill falsetto with a wild energy and the best shameless bravado this side of ELO. On Chutes Mercer resides more in the lower register, only hitting the science-defying high notes in climactic finishes, speed riffs and three-part harmonies. While on World! his vocals are otherworldly, on Chutes he is earthbound, exposing the depths of his voice. In truth this is a triumph, since when Mercer and his bandmates peek out from behind a goofy, surreal persona they become real, multifaceted and strangely mature.
What the Shins have created with Chutes is a pared down album — fewer instruments, simpler musical arrangements and a notable reduction on soaring vocals. Like every band, the Shins had to grow up some time and while it might be hard at first to accept the pensive, introverted direction of Chutes, after a few listens it will receive a warm welcome. B+
