The Shins: Marty Crandall, Neal Langford, James Mercer, Jesse Sandoval.

Additional personnel includes: Melanie Crandall (cello); Neils Galloway (French horn); David Hernandez (bass).

This is an Enhanced CD, which contains both regular audio tracks and multimedia computer files.

Personnel: James Mercer (vocals, guitar); Marty Crandall (keyboards); Jesse Sandoval (drums).

Recording information: 2000.

The Shins appeared out of the middle of New Mexico as if by magic, though they had been around for a while under several other names on several different labels. In a landscape of boy bands, pre-teen chanteuses, and nu metal, the literate, '60s-influenced jangle of the Shins' debut seems a bizarre anomaly. This is indie rock that channels Love and Creation rather than the Ramones and Sex Pistols.

Standouts include "One by One All Day," with its Space Invader intro, rattling drums, and retro keyboard solo, the gentle "Weird Divide," which highlights James Mercer's Brian Wilson-esque voice, and "Your Algebra," with its echoing vocals and guitar arpeggios. Arguably, the album's best track is "New Slang," which begins with the lines "Gold teeth and a curse for this town are all in my mouth/Only I don't know how they got out." For listeners with a computer, the disc also contains a charming if very low-fi video for "New Slang."