The Shins - Oh, Inverted World

Oh, great album!!!!

I love this album. And this week the mp3 sale for $3.99, there is no reason NOT to own it. November 25, 2008

Oh, Inverted World Review

The first time I heard the Shins, I thought they sounded like modern-day Beatles. Oh, Inverted World does not disappoint. The entire album is good, not just one song that gets played on the radio too much. Good vocals, harmony, and great guitar.

I would have given five stars, but the CD is only about 45 minutes long. October 28, 2008

Bland

As somebody else wrote, this has been done a lot of times before. It is extremely derivative 60's influenced guitar pop that is not that great but also not that bad. Actually quite faceless and bland. July 29, 2008

Best pop/rock album this decade

While this album was released in 2001, it still remains one of the best albums this millennium. The Shins have since released a couple more spectacular efforts, but neither of them have eclipsed "Oh, Inverted World". The opening track "Caring Is Creepy" sets the stage for a very surreal experience. Sweeping keyboards and smooth guitars give this album a very peaceful listening experience and is best enjoyed with a nice pair of headphones and closed eyes. "The Past and Pending" is the ending track and serves perfectly to slow everything back down and give the album a graceful exit. Don't worry, though; the album does pick up in the middle with the energetic "Know Your Onion" and "Girl Inform Me", a couple of very catchy rock tunes. This album puts me in a good mood every time I listen to it, and if you're a fan of pop/rock with a lot of acoustics then I'm sure you will feel the same. June 4, 2008

Pleasant, derivative fun

(Actually **1/2, but Amazon doesn't allow half stars.)

This is pleasant, melodic and fairly intelligent indie pop rock that does nothing that hasn't been before but does it rather well. Standout track "Know Your Onion!" is a catchy, jaunty ditty about adolescent alienation and includes a lyric about finding one's favorite record "lying in wait at the Birmingham mall." Since these guys are American, from New Mexico, that's a little silly, and it's even more so to reflect that the slowly strummed and murmured "Weird Divide" could just as easily have been titled "We Like Syd Barrett." This is pretty good pop though, offering annoying and endearing prettiness in about equal measure.

Song by song:

1 Caring Is Creepy ***
2 One by One All Day **
3 Weird Divide ***
4 Know Your Onion! ***
5 Girl Inform Me **
6 New Slang **
7 The Celibate Life ***
8 Girl on the Wing ***
9 Your Algebra **
10 Pressed in a Book **
11 The Past and Pending * June 1, 2008

More reviews at Amazon.com ...