He found some. “Inverted World” was the audio equivalent of being lathered with VapoRub. It felt refreshing, but that eventually wore off. The album had tonal uniformity. On “Chutes Too Narrow” (Sub Pop), Mercer’s voice is more exploratory–and that’s a plus. “I have more confidence in ‘Just sing the song. Don’t worry too much’,” says Mercer. He lightens up on “Turn a Square,” writing, “Hand in hand to the grass we got it right/Just a glimpse of an ankle and I react like it’s 1805.” Mercer goes back in time again on “Chutes” standouts “Saint Simon” and “So Says I,” which references “Utopia” author Sir Thomas More. “Real serious faith in anything is bad,” he says. Can’t blame him if he’s pessimistic: while he was on tour, his house got robbed, and he’s installing some security measures. Not very rock and roll, but the Shins seem OK with that.
