Chutes Too Narrow

Chutes Too Narrow
Studio album by The Shins
Released	October 21, 2003
Recorded	June–July 2003[1]
Studio	James Mercer's basement (Portland, Oregon) Avast! Studios (Seattle, Washington)
Genre	Indie rock, indie pop, indie folk[2]
Length	33:50
Label	Sub Pop
Producer	The Shins, Phil Ek
The Shins chronology
Oh, Inverted World (2001) Chutes Too Narrow (2003) Wincing the Night Away (2007)
Singles from Chutes Too Narrow
"So Says I" Released: September 21, 2003 "Fighting in a Sack" Released: July 13, 2004 "Pink Bullets" Released: May 5, 2005

Chutes Too Narrow is the second studio album by American rock band The Shins. Produced by Phil Ek and the band themselves, the album was released on October 21, 2003, through Sub Pop. The album title comes from a lyric in the song "Young Pilgrims". The album was very well received by critics, garnering an overall score of 88/100 on Metacritic. As of August 2008 according to Nielsen SoundScan, they have sold over 393,000 copies to date.^[3]

Chutes Too Narrow features cleaner production standards than The Shins' "lo-fi" debut Oh, Inverted World. This is largely due to the album's being mixed by producer Phil Ek, who has also worked with Built to Spill and Modest Mouse. Chutes Too Narrow also departs from the band's previous keyboard-driven sound and shifts towards more emphasis on guitars.

The album also included violin parts on "Saint Simon", played by Annemarie Ruljancich, and was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Recording Package. The cover art was designed by Jesse LeDoux. The songs "Gone for Good" and "Those to Come" were used in the 2004 film In Good Company. "Those to Come" was also used in the 2005 film Winter Passing.