The rest of World follows suit, as front man James Mercer (no relation) steers through a strange landscape where folk and new-wave elements fuse with the neo-psychedelia thrust of, say, Beulah or the Starlight Mints. Mercer riffles through his own arcane lyrics, especially obtuse on "Your Algebra," which, set to an alien zombie whistle and cello drone, begins: "You may notice certain things before you die/Mail them to me should they cause/Your algebra to fail." The Shins' off-kilter lyrical sensibilities spill over into their song titles as well: "Caring is Creepy," "Know Your Onion!" and "The Celibate Life" are nearly Robert Pollard-worthy in their offhandedness.
Though they hail from Albuquerque, the Shins sound like they could be from anywhere--or from any time for that matter. It all sort of feels like a carefree group of kids roaming around on an overcast summer afternoon doing timeless things like swimming in the waterhole (Spiderland) or sitting on the roof together (Let It Be), watching the unpredictable hues of the fiery, cloud-addled sunrise (New Day Rising). No wonder the video worked so well.
