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Oh Inverted World by: Shins

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Rating: - A 21st Century masterpiece...

2001's 'Oh, Inverted World' remains one of the great albums released thus far in the zeroes - a classic I'd rate alongside such albums as 'Yankee Hotel Foxtrot','Mass Romantic','snow borne sorrow','69 Love Songs','Carbon Glacier','Turn on the Bright Lights'& 'Lift Yr Skinny Fists...'

It was on some Sub Pop samplers I became aware of The Shins - the wonderful 'New Slang (When You Notice the Stripes' sounding like a more sophisticated Elliott Smith. The Shins album fitting into a similar spectrum to acts like Apples In Stereo,The Kingsbury Manx and The New Pornographers. There's a sense of pop here, alongside elements of folk and psychedelia - any fans of more recent bands like The Arcade Fire and The Decemberists should find much here to adore!

It's all wonderful, having that melancholic autumn feel to things - songs like 'Girl Inform Me' and the Blur-meets-Van Dyke Parks of 'The Weird Divide' are ideal songs to fall in or out of love to. As the sticker on a more recent reissue notes, two songs here the aforementioned 'New Slang' and opener 'Caring is Creepy' featured in the indie-movie 'Garden State'- though whether this is a good thing or not depends if you thought it was minor-pseudo indie fare which irritated profoundly, having the depth of an episode of 'The OC'!

I love this album, though it's not that long; the follow-up 'Chutes Too Narrow' was fine too, though as some reviews have noted - the weight of expectation and claims of greatness for this debut dilute its effect. The oddest track here remains 'Your Algebra', which reminds me a little of Pink Floyd's 'Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast' and a lot of Dead Can Dance's 'Severance' for some reason! Closing joy 'The Past and Pending' remains the highlight, gorgeous melancholic folk-inflected rock that veers off into psychedelic territory with some gorgeous french horn...A 21st Century masterpiece and an album no one should be without anyway!

Rating: - Strange,very strange indeed!

On hearing this for the first time I wasn't sure what the hell I was listening to!
The first thing that strikes you is the production-the whole record has such an eerie veneer-as if The Zombies had composed the soundtrack to a long forgotten horror film.
The sixties references are easy to spot,from The Kinks to the above mentioned Zombies.Then as these nuggets of psych-pop wormed their way into my brain I stopped playing spot the influence and started to enjoy this great record. For lovers of Elephant 6/ Kinks/ Zombies and the first Simian album.

Rating: - On a lazy afternoon..

The Shins are an innovative band, blending traditional indie rythms with an experimental use of reverberated and distorted melodies and stretched vocals. The prequel to 'Chutes too Narrow', 'Oh,Inverted World' is full of echoed chants, drifting melodies and lazy-afternoon lyrics. If you're looking for sing-along anthems then this is perhaps not the album for you (try 'Chutes too Narrow') but 'Oh, Inverted World' is the perfect Sunday soundtrack.

Rating: - this album rocks

You need this album in your life!!the shins are one of the most excitng new bands around, in my opinion. Plus, the follow-up to Oh Inverted World, Chutes Too Narrow is even better. i cannot recommend this band enough. Buy it now!!

Rating: - Knowing our onions could be a good thing

I don't want to hype this band too much but I wish they'd tour England! Having said that, would their live presence spoil my image of them lazing around on a sunny afternoon smoking, sipping cups of tea and reading from picture books and listening to various pet sounds. Yes, it's true that there are some obvious influences on this album: the Beach Boys is the most obvious, but there are very definite shades of The Kinks, Simon & Garfunkel, Pavement, REM and Blur. Many have said the standout track is "New Slang" and I'd have to agree - it's beautiful in every way. "Know your onion!", "Caring is creepy" and "Pressed in a book" all jump out at the listener too, but this is very much an album to listen to as a whole and just unwind too. The indie kids shouldn't be expecting to bounce around their Kinesis and Hundred Reasons CD-strewn bedrooms to "Oh, Inverted World", but those appreciating a simple melody, and the vocals of a guy, James Mercer, who you are left convinced wouldn't say boo to a goose, would truly adore this masterpiece. I bought this CD on the strength of purely stumbling across The Shins on the internet and reading some very favourable reviews. I've heard the new album is even better. Guess what my next purchase will be?

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