The Shins - Chutes Too Narrow

Bill and Brian go sans guest for the first time in months to discuss an album that came to us around the same time back in our college days, The Shins' Chutes Too Narrow (2003, Sub Pop). The band formed as primary songwriter James Mercer's new project out of a band called Flake Music back around the turn of the century. Quickly signed to indie Sub Pop, the band had modest success with their first album, 2001's Oh, Inverted World. With Chutes Too Narrow, they gained some buzz and finally broke through after actor/filmmaker Zach Braff featured their song "New Slang" in a key scene in his 2004 film Garden State. Bill and Brian discuss discovering the band early in 2004, being a little underwhelmed by their live show, Brian's summer memories as an unwilling participant at Otacon, Brian's summer memories of his family trying to set him up with a pretty girl, Bill nerding out over utopias and dystopias, and more as we make our way through the album track by track!