These lyrics stray away from the stereotypically indie "my girlfriend dumped me" nonsense, and Mercer tends to ponder why the world is so ... inverted.
Which makes sense for this genuinely original band. It's been said many times this year, but it's worth repeating -- The Shins made the soundtrack for the summer.
And if you missed it, I'm sure it will make a great soundtrack for the winter.
2. The Strokes
Is This It?
Chuck D once said "Don't believe the hype." But should you? The Strokes, a young power-pop quintet whom many a music critic has been slobbering over, are not going to turn the music world on its head, and a powerful debut doesn't lead to legendary status. But still that doesn't mean they aren't a great rock group with killer rhythms and a relentless pop sensibility.
3. Weezer
Weezer (The Green Album)
After a long absence, Weezer dove back into the fray and landed in the pop-punk's driver's seat. Less than half an hour in length, Weezer isn't much more than a party favor, but you get more bang per buck here than on any other album this year. Short? Yeah. But filling? Oh yeah.
4. Radiohead
Amnesiac
Listening to this album is like viewing the world through a fishtank. Amnesiac has a sedated, underwater feel, and it preserves the experimental style of Kid A while losing the driving pump that defined its manic nature. The result is a distorted album that deviates far from the norm, even for Radiohead.
5t. Ryan Adams
Gold
Ryan Adams has moved from next big thing to the real thing with his solo career. On Gold he delves into a myriad of styles, even besting roots-rockers the Band with "Answering Bell." The album trails off in the second half and even includes some duds ("Sylvia Plath"), but it's a testament to Adams' songwriting that he can produce such a compelling album on the basis of a handful of songs. Not as strong as the best moments from Whiskeytown or his first solo album Heartbreaker, Gold proves second-rate Ryan Adams is still brilliant.
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5t. Bush
Golden State
Golden State pushes the band's musical envelope to the breaking point. Gavin Rossdale alternates lonely slow pieces with blistering guitar work in tracks like "Fugitive" to create a sound that's classic Bush: dark, bitter and moody, with occasional glimpses of the sun.
6. Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds
No More Shall We Part
With a voice that sounds filtered through tears, Nick Cave consistently delivers thoughtful songwriting and completely original instrumentals. Backed by his nine Bad Seeds on the title track, Cave boasts singles like the poetic and sweetly strained "As I Sat Sadly By Her Side." This 12 track LP explores spirituality and sorrow with conviction and years of experience writing music better than most of his contemporaries.
7. R.E.M.
Reveal
With Reveal, R.E.M.'s best album since 1992's Automatic for the People, the pride of Athens proved they're not only relevant, but essential. Reveal is a summery treat, the soundtrack to driving alone in the 4 o'clock sun, elbow out the window. While Up felt forced, Reveal succeeds because of its effortlessness.
8t. Superchunk
Here's To Shutting Up
Superchunk is well into its post-Pavement/emo phase now, and Here's to Shutting Up is the first wholly successful incarnation of its evolving style. Lead Singer Mac McCaughan has honed his scream into a more sophisticated falsetto-whine, and the rest of the band has toned down the volume and gone for an indie-rock faux pas: musicality.
8t. Radiohead
I Might Be Wrong - Live Recordings
Radiohead's third album in 13 months is a fun little piece of ear candy for hard-core Radiohead fans. I Might Be Wrong is a more intimate look into a good chunk of the band's previously released material, including half of the tracks from Kid A and selections from Amnesiac to boot. But listening to Thom Yorke's bittersweet and haunting vocals on "Everything In Its Right Place" followed shortly thereafter by new album material "True Love Waits" has got to be one of the most aurally rewarding experiences of the year.
8t. Bob Dylan
Love and Theft
As much as critics loved to say Love and Theft was Bob Dylan's comeback album, it's not true -- that honor went to the quietly brilliant Time Out of Mind. Love and Theft is, more accurately, Dylan's return to joviality. The album plays like a masterly revue of American musical modes, from swing to Cole Porter. On "Po' Boy," he sings, "I say, 'How much you want for that?'/I go into the store./Man says, 'Three dollars.'/'All right,' I say, 'will you take four?'" And considering the album's Sept. 11 release, Love and Theft itself seems like an act of charity from a wise and generous musician to a down-on its-luck nation: "Po' boy! Never seen a dime./ Things will be all right, by and by."
9. Bjork
Vespertine
While Bjork's earlier efforts like Post and Homogenic gathered their energy from sweeping techno bombast,Vespertine is a different creature entirely -- it's a self-meditative music box of a record. The Icelandic siren's whispering vocals are supported with layers of gorgeously delicate electronica. It's not her most musically intense album, granted, but it's definitely her most hypnotic.
10. Ben Folds
Rockin' The Suburbs
The former frontman of the Five struck out on his own this year with Rockin' The Suburbs, an ode to all things extremely white and oh-so-middle-class. And while everyone was talking about the title track, it was songs like "The Ascent of Stan" that really delved into the psychological quandaries of middle-class America. And it only helps that Folds places these musings into an appealing combination of Joe Jackson's melodic flourish with The Turtles' cheesy sighs.
