Subpop....subpar?

To tell you the truth, the deciding factor in buying this album was the simple cover art. I'm a sucker for clean, classic and contemporary cover art. As for the music, well, it's not bad. James Mercer's voice is singular in a way that it's grating sometimes. Other times, it fits. The band is talented and borrows from past masters, but this cd really isn't that compelling compared to, let's say, "OK Computer". But then again, it's not meant to be an epic, or a classic, even. It's a nice introduction to indie/retro/jangle/50s pop. There are some nice touches in each song, but the standout tracks are "Know Your Onion!," "New Slang" (voted by the Washington Post as "Song of 2001"), "Pressed in A Book," and "The Past and Pending." After a few listens, the rest of it is just too jangly for me. But I give them points for their interesting and charming lyrics. Give them a spin, it can't hurt.

Great Pop Album!

This is one of the best albums I've heard in a very very long time. I heard of the Shins from all the hype they had created due to this album and its follow up Chutes too Narrow. Well, I had some money to blow and I went on down to my local record store to hear the next best thing to sliced bread and I found this one lone copy of Oh Inverted World and paid my money and left, not really expecting much. Boy, was I wrong, this album is like Syd Barrett(my most favorite artist ever), The Byrds and The Beach Boys all blended together into one blissful psychedelic mix. These songs are happy, friendly, subdued and of course a little drug induced. The lyrics are cryptic but lush on imagery and have a frank honest tone to them and their delivery by Mercer even futhers the impact. But the best thing about this album is the actual music in my opinion. Its like a warm cascading waterfall or a lazy summer day spent in the shade. It is definitley an odd ball on Sub Pop's catalog along side the grungy likes of Nirvana, Soundgarden and Mudhoney but I give Sub Pop a thumbs up for change and for finding one of the best modern rock-pop acts ever. If you enjoyed this album I reccomend Chutes too Narrow and Syd Barrett's The Madcap Laughs.

good but...

this cd is better than Chutes too Narrow. Creative, and the lead singer has a cool voice. But it only gets three stars. All the songs sound a bit too much the same. Not enough variety. No amazing songs.