Oh, Inverted World

07/11/2001 9:13 PM, Yahoo! Music
Roger Park

There is a warm and an inviting feeling to the Shins' debut album Oh, Inverted World, which is pretty amazing for a quartet hailing from Albuquerque, New Mexico. The band is made up of former members of the indie-pop collective known as Flake/Flakemusic; and from the ashes comes a sparkling pop album with delightfully melodic, well-crafted, and compelling tunes.

Although '60s pop influences such as the Beach Boys and the Kinks are heard in the Shins, the album is no retro-rehash. Whether it's the celestial singing of frontman James Mercer on "Girl Inform Me" or the punching powerpop of "Know Your Onion!," the Shins provide open-aired landscapes with shimmering passages and catchy hooks. One of the album's best songs is "New Slang" with its folky bounce and lilting acoustic-driven grace that will make you hit the replay button over and over. While many of the tracks are medium to fast paced, slower tunes like "The Past And Pending" and "Weird Divide" show the band's graceful articulation of slower unfolding pop illuminations. Overall, Oh, Inverted World is an innovative and impressive debut excursion.