Blowin' Indie Wind

Author: Erika Mercer

Remember the Everlasting Gobstopper - that multi-colored, totally irresistible candy treat manufactured by the wacky Mr. Wonka? That ideal, never-ending confectionary wonder that was sure to sizzle nasty Slugworth?

Well, the Gobstopper has been trumped.

Slide down a chute into James Mercer's basement, and you'll see the machine at work, molding scrumptious morsels for good boys and girls everywhere to enjoy. Sweet, strange and savory, the candy that Mr. Mercer & Co. serves up is better than anything you'd taste in Wonkaland. One lick, and you'll never want anything else.

They call themselves the Shins, and they'll tempt you to think that making treats is effortless. But think again. Wonka devoted his life to pleasing the palate - the Shins didn't concoct their candy overnight. In fact, the quartet of candy-makers began their process in 1992 in Albuquerque, N.M., under the alias Flake then toyed with several different names until settling on the Shins in 1997.

Even then, the workers toiled on their machine until 2001, when out popped "Oh, Inverted World," the first delicious delectable that they let leave their basement factory. And oh boy, was it good. Critics everywhere snapped it up, fell victim to its curious flavor and praised the cleverness of its creators. What did it taste like? Well, subtle, mellow. Kind of sweet but twangy. Fresh, unusual, intensely likeable. One of the best homemade treats to grace shelves in a while.

But like Wonka, who knew he could surpass even his own famous chocolate, the Shins returned to their machine, tinkered with its parts, adding colorful buttons and setting new wheels in motion - all in an effort to prove that their weird, inverted world still had many undiscovered hills and valleys.

Then, in 2003, "Chutes Too Narrow" slid out of the machine, confirming that the two years of tinkering was worth it. Even more flavorful than the Gobstopper - and a lot more colorful - "Chutes Too Narrow" explodes in your mouth, hitting every taste bud. Melodies twist and swirl, guitars tweak and twinge and drums roll and shuffle in the background. Somehow elegant, somehow cute, somehow rocking and somehow subdued, this creation satisfies your every mood and craving.

It offers 10 flavors in one - from the sparkling, loud, playful tang of the first song, "Kissing The Lipless," to the grand, lavish, classical quality of the fifth song, "Saint Simon," to the faint and delicate trace of the final song, "Those To Come." There is nothing boring about this treat. Taste it over and over again, it won't lose its flavor.

And who are the mysterious candy geniuses? Hard at work behind the scenes you'll find vocalist and guitarist Mercer, keyboardist Marty Crandall, bassist Dave Hernandez and drummer Jesse Sandoval. But don't think that just because they've released their treats for the world to enjoy they're prepared to give away their secret. Oh, no. They speak another language, a cryptic, riddling language that leaves us to furrow our sad little brows in confusion. "An address to the golden door I was strumming on a stone again pulling teeth from the pimps of gore when hatched a tragic opera in my mind." So say they on "So Says I," the third song on the album. Gross and beautiful, magical and visceral - what are we left to deduce but everything?

The Shins will no more give away the meaning of their songs than Wonka would divest the ingredients of his Gobstopper. Trying to decode lyrics will leave you more befuddled than before, so just sit back and enjoy this everlasting piece of candy.