By steadily winning the sensitive hearts of music fans the world over, the Shins are the sleeper band that keeps getting bigger. Many obsess along with singer James Mercer's existential unrest, others just bop along to the catchy, bare-boned hooks--or hey, why not do both? Whatever the case, the Shins' appeal is deeply and widely felt.
Our story's beginnings are immersed in the clouded and impenetrable waters of time. Gaia, the Earth Mother, awoke from a century's sleep to find herself in peril of overpopulation and the consumption of her precious resources. Determined to save herself and the peaceable peoples who inhabited her green lands, she created five magical rings, instilling each ring with one of the five awesome powers of Earth, Fire, Wind, Water, and Heart. Gaia scoured her far-flung corners to find young men worthy of the rings' burden and the accompanying responsibility. She found her warriors and directed them to stamp out eco-villains through the four mighty pillars of recycling, reduction, reuse, and rock. When they first united in Albuquerque, New Mexico in 1997 and their powers combined, these men became collectively known as: The Shins.