The Shins - Phantom Limb

The Shins are a musical group on Sub Pop records comprising singer, songwriter and guitarist James Russell Mercer, keyboardist/guitarist/bassist Martin Crandall, bassist/guitarist Dave Hernandez, drummer Jesse Sandoval, as well as new member Eric Johnson of the Fruit Bats. Their sound is commonly described as indie rock, drawing on several musical genres including pop (in the tradition of The Beach Boys), alternative, country, and folk.

The Shins began in 1997, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, as a side project of Mercer (previously of Blue Roof Dinner) and Sandoval, who were both members of the lo-fi musical group Flake (formed in 1992). By 1999, Flake (which by then had been renamed Flakemusic) was disbanded and all of its former members became The Shins. The band released two 7" singles on Omnibus, "Nature Bears A Vacuum" (1999) and "When I Goosestep" (2000), before going on tour with Modest Mouse. During the tour, they were met in San Francisco by a Sub Pop representative, who eventually offered to release their debut album.

The Shins' first album was 2001's Oh, Inverted World, released to critical acclaim for its lyrically deft, jangly pop sound. Dave Hernandez, former member of Scared of Chaka, joined the group following the departure of bassist Neal Langford. Chutes Too Narrow followed in 2003 to much fanfare in indie music circles, featuring even more multi-layered lyrical inventions and a musical approach that explored new genres, song structures, and levels of production fidelity.

The band's record, Wincing the Night Away, was released on January 23, 2007. The album was leaked to the Internet on Friday, October 20th, 2006. It was available for pre-order with an extra track on iTunes

The Shins played a critically acclaimed show at the historic Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, CA, with Scotland's Belle and Sebastian on July 6, 2006. Both bands described playing at the venue as a career highlight. During live shows, the band members (particularly Crandall and Hernandez) are known to frequently swap instruments, making it somewhat difficult to define their exact roles in the band.

In a pitchforkmedia.com interview, Mercer announced that Eric Johnson of fellow Sub Pop band the Fruit Bats had joined the Shins. In the interview Mercer talks about wanting to work with different people, making it appear that Johnson has signed on as a collaborator and not just as a touring musician. [1]

The Shins are currently based in Portland, Oregon.

Currently they have tour dates planned in America throughout Febuary. It is rumoured that they are planning a UK tour due to a email sign up on their myspace for UK fans. The band have also vowed to their UK fans that they will be making up for their Leeds and Reading festival 2006 cancelation in the near future.

Official website: http://www.theshins.com/