Chutes Too Narrow

Chutes Too Narrow
Studio album by The Shins
Released	October 21, 2003
Recorded	June–July 2003 in James' Basement and Avast! Studios
Genre	Indie rock Indie pop
Length	33:50
Label	Interscope Records
Producer	The Shins, Phil Ek
The Shins chronology
Oh, Inverted World (2001) Chutes Too Narrow (2003) Wincing the Night Away (2007)

Chutes Too Narrow is The Shins' 2003 follow-up to their debut album, Oh, Inverted World. The album title comes from a lyric in the song "Young Pilgrims." The album was well-received by critics, garnering an overall score of 88/100 on Metacritic. According to Nielsen SoundScan, they have sold over 393,000 copies to date.

Chutes Too Narrow features cleaner production standards than the "lo-fi" Oh, Inverted World. This is largely due to the album's being mixed by producer Phil Ek, who has also worked with Built to Spill and Modest Mouse. Chutes Too Narrow also departs from the band's keyboard-driven debut and shifts towards more emphasis on guitars.

The album also included violin parts on "Saint Simon", played by Annemarie Ruljancich, and was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Recording Package. The cover art was designed by Jesse LeDoux. The songs "Gone for Good" and "Those To Come" were used in the 2004 film In Good Company. "Those To Come" was also used in the 2005 film Winter Passing.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Blender	[2]
Drowned In Sound	[3]
The Guardian	[4]
Mojo	[5]
Pitchfork Media	(8.9/10.0)[6]
PopMatters	(favorable)[7]
Robert Christgau	(A-)[8]
Rolling Stone	[9]
Sputnikmusic	[10]
Stylus	(A)[11]
Uncut	[12]

Chutes Too Narrow placed on Slant Magazine's list of best albums of the 2000s at number 91^[13] and Pitchfork Media's at 46.^[14]

Track listing

All songs written by James Mercer.

1. "Kissing the Lipless" – 3:19
2. "Mine's Not a High Horse" – 3:20
3. "So Says I" – 2:48
4. "Young Pilgrims" – 2:47
5. "Saint Simon" – 4:25
6. "Fighting in a Sack" – 2:26
7. "Pink Bullets" – 3:53
8. "Turn a Square" – 3:11
9. "Gone for Good (A Call to Apathy)" – 3:13
10. "Those to Come" – 4:24
11. "Mild Child" (Japanese Bonus Track) - 4:29

References

1. ^ Allmusic review
2. ^ Blender review
3. ^ Drowned In Sound review
4. ^ The Guardian review
5. ^ Mojo review
6. ^ Pitchfork Media review
7. ^ PopMatters review
8. ^ Robert Christgau review
9. ^ Rolling Stone review
10. ^ Sputnikmusic review
11. ^ Stylus review
12. ^ Uncut review
13. ^ "Best of the Aughts: Albums". Slant Magazine. http://www.slantmagazine.com/music/feature/best-of-the-aughts-albums/215. Retrieved February 10, 2010. 
14. ^ "The Top 200 Albums of the 2000s: 50-21". Pitchfork Media. http://pitchfork.com/features/staff-lists/7709-the-top-200-albums-of-the-2000s-50-21/. 

External links

• Chutes Too Narrow at Metacritic