Song of the Day - Shin Up

Today's song of the day comes from American indie band The Shins. They are a five piece band fronted by James Mercer, who also fronts Broken Bells, who I have featured before. Despite being in existence for 18 years, The Shins have struggled to make their mark on the charts. Their most popular song, Phantom Limb, reached 42 in the UK charts but that's been about it.

This is Australia:

So What's So Good?

Australia is another infectiously joyful song. It doesn't matter how sad you feel, one listen to this song will help. Which is ironic, because the song is meant to be the complete opposite. It's lyrically quite a soul crushing song about the depressing nature of working a day job every night. It's deceptively hopeless, betraying the ears with impossibly happy melodies and vocals.

I'm a big fan of Mercer's vocals and this song is no different - there's something special in the way he pronounces certain words (dancefloor in particular) in the song. It's fairly simple and upbeat musically with a few clever hooks, but Mercer is the real stand out.

The Shins are the sort of band who are inoffensive. You're unlikely to dislike them, but it's quite easy to fall in love with them. Give them a listen and see if you've found your new favourite band.