Editorial Reviews Music Review:
Music Review
Bach Transcriptions & Mod Australian Piano Music
Back to the Heavyweight [Import]
Audio Therapy Presents Across Borders: Greece
All the Best Irish Drinking Songs
Aos Mestres Com Carinho: Homenagem a Dolores Duran [Import]
Bangin on the Wax (Best of the Crips)
20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: The Best of Arthur Fiedler
Amazon.com's Best of 2001
Something extraordinary is afoot in Albuquerque. The Shins' first big-time record, Oh, Inverted World, combines mysterious narratives with golden song structures, resulting in lavish and opulent indie pop. Touches of Neutral Milk Hotel's lyrical majesty and the nostalgic swirl of Echo and the Bunnymen abound. But the Shins' music--rich with acoustic guitars, flickering rhythms, and Casio-tone keyboards--is distinct and peculiar. Worry mixes with abstraction throughout, and while James Mercer sings, "You led no celibate life / No skirt while chemicals danced on your head / You stole the keys to this ride / And your fables are falling tonight," you may wonder if he's been routing through your fondest, most troubling memories. This vital album is easily among 2001's most distinguished recordings and one of the best Sub Pop releases to date. --Thom Arno