Shins
Chutes Too Narrow
Rare & Collectible Vinyl Records

Sealed, Gatefold Original With Alternate Cover Art To The CD Version. Hard To Truly Discern Between Original 2003 Pressing & The Later 2005 Repress And Beyond, Without Seeing Matrix. “Chutes Too Narrow's Breezy Subtlety Is Less Accessible Than The Shins' Debut, But That Doesn't Mean The Album Lacks Great Songs. Indeed, It Begins With One Of The Best Songs The Shins Have Written, "Kissing The Lipless." Largely Acoustic With An Intricate, Shifting Structure, The Song Builds Up To Unpredictable Spikes Of Guitar And An Amazing High Note, Forged Out Of Pain And Frustration, From Mercer When He Sings "You Told Us Of Your New Life There." The Elaborately Lovely, Slightly Spooky "Saint Simon" Sounds Like Nilsson Backed By The Left Banke. "Turn A Square," Meanwhile, Is One Of Chutes Too Narrow's Rockier Songs, A Tangle Of Lust And Nerves That Features The Great Lyrics "Just A Glimpse Of An Ankle And I/React Like It's 1805." Mercer Has Always Been A Uniquely Witty And Affecting Songwriter, But The Simpler Sound Of This Album Really Lets His Gifts As A Lyricist Shine Through (And Also Gives Chutes Too Narrow An Occasionally Singer/Songwriterly Feel). "You Wanna Fight For This Love/But Honey, You Cannot Wrestle A Dove," He Sings On "A Call To Apathy," A Wonderfully Twangy Song That Recalls Both The Everly Brothers And Marshall Crenshaw; On "Pink Bullets" He Takes The Time To Notice "The Cool Of A Temperate Breeze/From Dark Skies To Wet Grass" And "The Scent Of Your Skin And Some Foreign Flowers." These Carefully Crafted Words And Melodies Keep The Listener Wanting, And Coming Back For, More. Initially, Chutes Too Narrow Might Seem As Light And Fleeting As Dandelion Fluff Or Snow Flurries Blowing In The Wind, But Its Direction Promises Even More Good Things From The Shins.” Heather Phares, AMG.