Influences on The Shins

Influences on The Shins

My Bloody Valentine
Pixies
Echo and the Bunnymen
The Apples in Stereo
The Beta Band
The Jesus & Mary Chain

Influenced by The Shins

The Shins were part of the underground music explosion in the early 2000s. Their first album came out in the same time period as the White Stripes' breakthrough album White Blood Cells, the Strokes' debut Is This It, and the New Pornographers' first album Mass Romantic. 

The influence of this shift in music culture toward a large audience valuing home-recorded or lo-fi albums from small-label bands (The Strokes were on RCA, a giant label, but their record sounds like vintage garage rock) led to later breakthroughs for artists like Bon Iver. The catchy guitar pop with heady lyrics that the Shins made into their hallmark can be heard in newer bands like the Morning Benders.

The special relationship between the Shins and Modest Mouse bears mentioning here, too. The two bands are both products of the American West; they toured together on the Shins' first extensive set of live shows; and the lead songwriters of the bands, James Mercer and Isaac Brock, are friends. The Modest Mouse's drummer even joined the Shins in 2009. Over time, Modest Mouse's originally more rocking sound and experimental bent has given way to more pop-like tunes, while the Shins' initial pop sound has gotten more and more experimental.