Fumbling around in the murky gloom of The Olympia dressing room, James Mercer, lead singer with The Shins, is having trouble locating a light-switch. We’re supposed to be conducting an interview, but considering we can barely make out each other’s faces, Mercer has taken it upon himself to rectify the situation. Finally, success, and a feeble light above the mirror flickers on. As my eyes adjust, I realise this is an extremely modest setting in which to interview the lead singer of one of America’s biggest bands.

Yet Mercer seems unfazed by his surroundings, and as he settles into one of the Olympia’s battered red velvet chairs, I think he could be any overgrown indie boy recently pulled off of the streets of Dublin. Scruffy jeans, a nondescript t-shirt and a couple of days worth of stubble: if he wasn’t an international rock star, you’re pretty sure his mother would be sitting at home worrying about him. However, unlike most scruffy indie boys, Mercer is engaging and articulate (and polite, he helps me check my mini-disc player is working), and within thirty seconds it is clear how much of a professional he is. Which is to be expected, when you consider that he has been playing in bands since the early 1990s. After earning his rock and roll stripes in his first group Flake, Mercer set up The Shins in 1997, striking a deal with his parents: if this latest attempt did not produce an album to be proud of, he’d put down his guitar and head back to college. It was lucky then that the seeds for The Shins first album Oh, Inverted World were sown during this period, and the band has been growing in stature ever since.

The Shins first played in Ireland three years ago, taking in both Oxegen and Whelan’s, and Mercer has fond memories of the Irish gig-going public. When I ask him what we’re like compared to American audiences, the answer could almost sum up the typical American view of Irish natives in general, though from Mercer it is a compliment. “You guys are more boisterous in a jovial, good natured sorta way. There’s really boisterous crowds in our hometown of Albuquerque but they’re not jovial - they’re kinda threatening and hostile!” This may explain why Mercer has since upped-sticks for Portland, Oregon, a place with a greater respect for music, it being the spiritual home to the late great Elliott Smith. “Portland is a cool place. It would probably feel less ‘foreign’ than a lot of other American cities. It’s kinda like a European city, it’s a modern progressive town.” In more than ways than one, Portland is a million miles away from the desert landscape of his New Mexico hometown; as Mercer happily admits “It rains all the time.” Considering the non-existent summer we’ve witnessed, it seems Mercer has every reason to feel comfortable here on Irish soil. The subject of rain naturally brings us onto festivals, and we discuss the mud-fest that has become synonymous with outdoor events these past few months. However, this year, The Shins’ festival experience took them to further-flung territory, as they played the Fuji Rock festival in Japan, and came across a completely different fan base. “Japanese fans are totally nuts, but at the same time completely restrained. And there’s no trash anywhere,” Mercer laughs incredulously, “kids don’t throw shit on the ground!” What they do do however, is give. Mercer gives an embarrassed shake of his head. “The first time we went to Japan we felt like bastards, because we didn’t realise they had this tradition of gift giving.” The band members were regularly greeted in their hotel lobby by crowds of polite soft-spoken Japanese fans, eager to shower their idols with gifts before deferentially scurrying away. On returning to Japan this summer, Mercer made sure he came prepared. “This time I went with all kinds of smoked salmon from Oregon. They were stoked!”

From this bizarre anecdote, its clear there are clearly different rules of engagement for different continents, so how does Mercer feel about Europe in comparison to America? The Shins are big business in the States now, their 3rd album Wincing the Night Away debuting at number 2 in the Billboard charts, the highest ever placing for their label Sub-Pop. There was a great deal of hype surrounding the band after their name check and soundtrack use in a well-known American indie film, so is the hype less pronounced in Ireland and the UK? Mercer is in two-minds. “It’s definitely catching up. Selling out the Olympia, that’s a big deal for us.” It’s less manic for the band in Europe, but only slightly. “You step back in time a little bit, but it’s changing quickly. In a way its kinda sad - things are so much simpler when you’re a smaller band. Now you start sweating the small things, whereas when you’re a smaller band you just show up and you don’t really have the ability to worry about how you end up sounding. You just go out there and do it.”

Of course, Mercer and his band-mates have been going out there and ‘doing it’ for more than a decade now, so the rise into the big leagues is appreciated after years of playing small venues in supporting slots. Nowadays, bands are being signed before they’ve even played three chords together, so does this make Mercer feel old? “I think I feel old because I am old! I’m 36 now, I’ve been this way for ten years though.” Indeed, it seems Mercer was born a generation too late, and any outward signs of ‘coolness’ he says are an act. “I was always faking it when I was in Flake. I pretended I was into what was current, but really I was like “Whatever.” In reality I was listening to the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and Sam Cooke.” He was still cool, just in an old school way. “We’re always asked (adopts perky TV presenter voice) “What’s your TOP FIVE RECORDS from last year,” and Jesus, I’m like “I couldn’t name you ten records that came out in the last ten years!” Of course, he is exaggerating slightly. “I have the Arcade Fire record, I have the Clap Your Hands Say Yeah record, I have the Peter, Bjorn and John record. I’m hipper than my mom!”

Much of Mercer’s inability to keep up with today’s music may have something to do with the fact that touring and recording takes up the majority of his time. Add to this the recent birth of his son, and it’s unsurprising that he’s unaware of the new music that is out there. Considering these factors, its therefore also unsurprising that touring is becoming less of a priority for him. In the week that they played the Olympia, the Shins had a gig scheduled for the following 5 nights, in 5 different countries. Mercer admits that the buzz can get old very quickly. “At some point its gonna feel like we’ve played this fucking set for a year now. That’s when you get the feeling its about time to do a new record. You get this kind of intuition about it, and it’s at that point that I’ll start pushing for time off.” This is not to say that Mercer does not enjoy gigs, he simply does not appreciate the concept of touring as glorified promotion. “There’s always some sort argument to do a gig because “Hey guys, if you do this - they’ll play you on the radio!” He snorts sarcastically and rolls his eyes heavenwards. “Which is a really shitty game to play.” The Shins may be a big American band, but their label, Sub-Pop is still only an independent label, “And indie labels have no fuckin’ sway at all” where the radio markets in the US are concerned. “Even all those alternative radio stations in The States are extremely corporate. It’s just like the old days - its payola.” Not that Mercer is too bothered really. While he laments the narrow-mindedness of the MTV generation, he’s not exactly sure he wants to be lumped in with ‘emo’ bands and lip-synching Britney-alikes. “It’s not like a lot of our songs fit in with My Chemical Romance, and this is the stuff that seems to be really working - the kids fucking love it! You can’t really argue with that - that’s our lot.” What Mercer seems to be saying is that The Shins may not be down with the kids, but really, they’ve been around too long to care. Later that night I watch them walk out onto the Olympia stage to greet the ‘boisterous jovial’ Irish crowd, and the vibe is certainly not that of your typical emo-gig. True enough, there are guys with ludicrously tiny waists in skinny jeans hiding behind their floppy hair, and there are a few girls with panda eye make up and skull-and-crossbones all over their t-shirts. But the higher proportion of the crowd are new professional types, still not willing to abandon their indie credentials even though they’re now probably working 9-5 and have a mortgage. This is the spirit that The Shins successfully tap into as they launch into an energetic set- yeah we’re older but we’re still hip. Hipper than your ma, that’s for sure.

Brendan McGuirk is the editor of Analogue, and former Chair of Trinity FM.
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