The Shins - Chutes Too Narrow - 20th Anniversary Remaster [LP]

Sub Pop Records

£22.93

Format: LP
Catalogue No.: SP1570
Barcode: 098787157017
Release Date: 20 Oct 2023
Genre: Alternative Rock

Die-cut tri-fold jacket with custom dust sleeve

This 2023 edition of The Shins’s beloved second album, Chutes Too Narrow, celebrates the album’s 20th anniversary with a fresh remaster by Adam Ayan, supervised by band leader James Mercer, and lovely new packaging for the vinyl.

Following The Shins’s breakout 2001 debut, Oh, Inverted World, singer/songwriter/guitarist James Mercer and drummer Jesse Sandoval moved from Albuquerque to Portland, OR and bassist Neal Langford was replaced with Dave Hernandez (ex-Scared Of Chaka), who played bass on the stand-out track from the first record, “New Slang.” Chutes Too Narrow, their heavily anticipated follow-up, was recorded in James’ basement home studio, with later mixing assistance from Phil Ek (Built to Spill, Modest Mouse, David Cross, Les Savy Fav, etc.). And, with 10 songs, clocking in at just over 30 minutes, Chutes Too Narrow is a brief yet entirely scintillating glimpse at chiming, reflective and perfectly skewed pop innovation.

It was released to widespread acclaim in 2003, garnering Pitchfork’s Best New Music, four stars from Rolling Stone, and raves from the New York Times, MOJO, the Village Voice, SPIN, and tons more. It subsequently made best-of-the-decade lists from The AV Club, NME, Paste, Pitchfork, and Uncut.

Highlights:
Critically acclaimed on release, and widely considered one of the best albums of the 2000s.
Remastered from original tapes by Adam Ayan at Gateway Mastering.
Extensive press and radio campaigns begin August 22, 2023

Track listing:
Kissing the Lipless
Mine's Not a High Horse
So Says I
Young Pilgrims
Saint Simon
Fighting in a Sack
Pink Bullets
Turn a Square
Gone for Good
Those to Come