| Chutes Too Narrow | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | October 21, 2003 | |||
| Recorded | June–July 2003[1] | |||
| Studio | James Mercer's basement (Portland, Oregon) Avast! Studios (Seattle, Washington) | |||
| Genre | Indie rock,indie pop,indie folk[2] | |||
| Length | 33:50 | |||
| Label | Sub Pop | |||
| Producer | The Shins,Phil Ek | |||
| The Shins chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Chutes Too Narrow | ||||
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Chutes Too Narrow is the second studio album by Americanrock bandThe Shins. Produced byPhil Ek and the band themselves, the album was released on October 21, 2003, throughSub Pop. The album title comes from a lyric in the song "Young Pilgrims". The album was very well received by critics, garnering an overall score of 88/100 onMetacritic. As of August 2008 according toNielsen SoundScan, they have sold over 393,000 copies to date.[3]
Chutes Too Narrow features cleaner production standards than The Shins' "lo-fi" debutOh, Inverted World. This is largely due to the album's being mixed by producerPhil Ek, who has also worked withBuilt to Spill andModest Mouse.Chutes Too Narrow also departs from the band's previous keyboard-driven sound and shifts towards more emphasis on guitars.
The album also included violin parts on "Saint Simon", played by Annemarie Ruljancich, and was nominated for aGrammy Award forBest Recording Package. The cover art was designed by Jesse LeDoux. The songs "Gone for Good" and "Those to Come" were used in the2004 filmIn Good Company. "Those to Come" was also used in the 2005 filmWinter Passing.
Chutes Too Narrow was recorded in the basement of James Mercer's former home, located in a particularly rough neighborhood in Portland, Oregon.[4] Although recording in the basement was less than pleasant, the band found it "cheaper than a real studio", with Mercer noting that "it only costs sixty bucks to buy deadbolts for the doors."[5] Near the end of the recording process, the band was robbed of the computer they recorded on. "So the master files are now in some crack addict's basement," Mercer toldRolling Stone in 2003.[4] Having cut ties with a bad relationship and a bad job, Mercer felt his songwriting reflected a broader perspective as a result.[5] During the recording process, keyboardist Marty Crandall and his girlfriend,Elyse Sewell, saw a television advertisement forAmerica's Next Top Model and joked that she should try out. HostTyra Banks called his girlfriend a week later, and Sewell went on to win third prize on America's Next Top Model, wearing "three different Shins T-shirts" on the program.[5]
Following the record's completion, the album was mixed atAvast! Studios in Seattle and mastered at The Lodge in New York City.[1]
Rolling Stone wrote thatChutes Too Narrow is "a study in old-school pop songwriting, full of Sixties-stylepsychedelic folk rock, abundant pop hooks and James Mercer's inimitable high-pitched croon."[4]
"Fighting in a Sack" is the second single taken fromChutes Too Narrow. It was released on 13 July 2004.[6][7][8][9]
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 88/100[10] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [11] |
| Alternative Press | 5/5[12] |
| Entertainment Weekly | A−[13] |
| The Guardian | [14] |
| Mojo | [15] |
| Pitchfork | 8.9/10[16] |
| Q | [17] |
| Rolling Stone | [18] |
| Spin | B[19] |
| The Village Voice | A−[20] |
Chutes Too Narrow was met with critical acclaim upon its October 2003 release. Matt LeMay ofPitchfork designated it "Best New Music", summarizing that "Not simply an excellent album,Chutes Too Narrow is also a powerful testament to pop music's capacity for depth, beauty and expressiveness."[16]AllMusic's Heather Phares wrote that the band "excel[s] at sounding happy, sad, frustrated, and vulnerable at the same time, and their best songs, whether they're fast or slow, feel like they're bursting with nervous energy."[11]The New York Times'sKelefa Sanneh calledChutes Too Narrow a "sly, restless album that includes a cryptic protest song—full of sugary harmonies and disconcerting slogans—and a dreamy meditation on ontogeny."[21]Rolling Stone gave the record four stars, with reviewer Barry Walters commenting, "It must mean something that the freshest indie rock boasts tunes more substantial than what is sold in the mainstream."[18]
Robert Christgau ofThe Village Voice called Mercer "a gifted melodist with an arranger's knack for psychedelicizing simple structures and a folkie's fondness for acoustic strum."[20]Q called the record "a leap forward",[17] whileUncut wrote that "You don't expect progression from such evident classicists, but there's a new clarity, poise and refinement."[22]Mojo wrote that the album "sears through the essence of what makes this band special, the brave voice and ebullient delivery of singer-songwriter-guitarist James Mercer."[15]Spin's Zac Crain compared their style to their "fellow travelers theNew Pornographers", writing that "the Shins are reverent and referential, practically documenting their source material with footnotes, while acting like they own it."[19] While Dave Simpson ofThe Guardian opined that "downbeat self-deprecation" permeates the recording, he wrote that "there's a certain small-town romance vibe throughout, they're not averse to surprises."[14]
Stephen Thompson ofThe A.V. Club felt the record was a disappointment in contrast to its "near-perfect" predecessor, but did speak positively when comparing: "[Chutes Too Narrow] does share its intelligence and concision, as well as its remarkable ability to make kicky pop-rock sound both simple and complex, retro and modern."[23] In contrast,The New Yorker considered the album an improvement overOh, Inverted World: "With better writing, better playing and better singing, the album illustrates the breadth of the lead singer and songwriter James Mercer's vision; the cuts […] are elevated by accessible pop hooks and literate but unpretentious lyrics."[24] Similarly, Robert Christgau felt it "faster and clearer" than the band's "paisley-fringed" debut, writing that the album "advances the Shins well beyond the dreamy indistinctness that has replaced lo-fi as Indieland's distancing strategy of choice."[25]Alternative Press wrote that the band "satisfy largely by serving up more of what made their debut so good",[12] andBlender felt similarly: "Their second album is equally charming and more consistent."[26]Magnet felt it "a better record than the Shins' first—a sonically bolder production with fewer effects and more hooks per square inch than aflyrod factory."[27]Will Hermes ofEntertainment Weekly wrote that "[the band] follow 2001's pop-a-liciousOh Inverted World with just the record you'd want: production a bit bigger […] and songs more adventurous but no less indelible."[13]
Chutes Too Narrow appeared on numerous music critics' and publications' end-of-year albums lists.Stylus Magazine placed the record at number three on their respective list,[28] whileBillboard andThe Village Voice'sPazz & Jop followed at number six.[29][30]Pitchfork placed the record at number seven on their year-end list, writing that "Chutes Too Narrow shattered expectations, a meticulously sequenced, stripped-down collection of indie pop gems encompassing endlessTechnicolor universes."[31]Mojo also placed the album at number seven on their list,[32] andRolling Stone on an unordered list of "Best Albums of 2003".[33]
| Publication | Country | Accolade | Year | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The A.V. Club | US | The Best Music of the Decade[34] | 2009 | 17 |
| NME | UK | The Top 100 Greatest Albums of the Decade[35] | 2009 | 75 |
| Paste | US | The 50 Best Albums of the Decade (2000-2009)[36] | 2009 | 24 |
| Pitchfork | The Top 200 Albums of the 2000s[37] | 2009 | 46 | |
| Slant Magazine | Best of the Aughts: Albums[38] | 2009 | 91 | |
| Uncut | UK | 150 Greatest Albums Of The Decade[39] | 2009 | 113 |
All songs written and composed byJames Mercer.[1]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Kissing the Lipless" | 3:19 |
| 2. | "Mine's Not a High Horse" | 3:20 |
| 3. | "So Says I" | 2:48 |
| 4. | "Young Pilgrims" | 2:47 |
| 5. | "Saint Simon" | 4:25 |
| 6. | "Fighting in a Sack" | 2:26 |
| 7. | "Pink Bullets" | 3:53 |
| 8. | "Turn a Square" | 3:11 |
| 9. | "Gone for Good" | 3:13 |
| 10. | "Those to Come" | 4:24 |
The Shins
| Production
|
| Chart (2003–2004) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[40] | 82 |
| UK Albums (OCC)[41] | 82 |
| USBillboard 200[42] | 86 |
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United States (RIAA)[43] | Gold | 500,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
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