The Shins

The Shins came to wider attention with “New Slang,” a song from their 2001 debut album, Oh, Inverted World, that reached a larger audience after its use in the 2004 film Garden State. Formed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 1996, the American indie rock band has remained the project of singer-songwriter James Mercer, its sole constant member through numerous lineup changes. The group is based in Portland, Oregon.

Mercer started the Shins as a side project while playing in Flake Music, an Albuquerque band active from 1992 to 1999. Flake Music released two 7-inch singles and the full-length When You Land Here, It’s Time to Return through Omnibus Records. The band was touring with Modest Mouse when the Shins signed with Sub Pop Records.

The Shins’ early Sub Pop releases, Oh, Inverted World and 2003’s Chutes Too Narrow, were both commercial successes and received critical acclaim. “New Slang” became the group’s breakthrough single through Garden State, setting the stage for 2007’s Wincing the Night Away. The album peaked at number two on the Billboard 200 and earned the band a Grammy Award nomination.

After Wincing the Night Away, the Shins signed to Columbia Records. Mercer then parted ways with the entire original lineup, calling the move “an aesthetic decision.” Following a hiatus of nearly five years, the band returned with its fourth studio album, Port of Morrow, in 2012. Their fifth album, Heartworms, followed in March 2017.

The current lineup pairs Mercer with Yuuki Matthews on bass and keyboards, Mark Watrous on guitar, keyboards and lap steel, Patti King on keyboards, and Jon Sortland on drums.