For an artist, there have to be a few things that compare to creating a song or piece that you know is going to be a hit. The only feeling close to it must be when your art reaches heights you never thought imaginable, catapulting not only your art but your whole life into the stratosphere. An artist’s intentions are not ours to decipher but it is fun to wonder what headspace they were in while creating their masterpiece. Such is the curious case of The Shins’ sophomore LP Chutes Too Narrow, arguably their magnum opus. October 21 marks twenty years since frontman James Mercer released the ten songs that changed the direction of his band, and life.
Chutes Too Narrow continues to be The Shins’ most celebrated release as the test of time has not made a scratch on the LP’s legacy. The album was recorded during the summer of 2003 at the home of Mercer, more specifically the artist’s basement. Ironically, the music of this album is the opposite of the environment it was recorded in. From the dark depths of a basement emerged bright and colorful pop songs tinted with psychedelic folk for a rainbow of melodies. This quick yet potent outing saw the band exploring different topics lyrically and allowed their loftiest ideas of what pop can be to become a reality.
The gleeful tones and colorful world of Chutes Too Narrow sound as present as ever. The album plays like a psychedelic trip through the park on a sunny day and evokes the feeling of seeing a bird take flight or a bee pollinate a flower. The intimacy of home recording flows through this LP although the impressive mastering work says otherwise. The mixing on the LP was done by Phil Ek and the mastering was handled by Emily Lazar, the results changed these intimate acoustics into larger-than-life pop songs. They were able to capture the magic of artistic freedom and clean up the rawness of Mercer without losing the heart of these songs. Moments like “Turn a Square” sound stadium-sized while “Gone for Good” focuses on fireside acoustics, each song encompassing a creative shift for Mercer. His poetic songwriting shines on “Those To Come” and “Young Pilgrims”.
While The Shins have released fantastic music since there is something so undeniably special about Chutes Too Narrow. Whether it be the environment it was recorded in or the headspace the band was in, these ten songs showcase a young band finding their footing at a young age and crafting beautiful music out of it. For just over thirty minutes you are transported to a cartoonish reality of big smiles and heel-clicking set to extraordinary arrangements that are more akin to a sunrise than musicianship. Twenty years after it was introduced to the world, Chutes Too Narrow is as charming and infectious as it was the first time you came across it.
