Two long-lost songs by The Shins are now available for the first time in 20 years. “When I Goose-Step” and “The Gloating Sun” are remastered and appear on a new 7-inch alongside “New Slang (When You Notice the Stripes)” as part of the Sub Pop Singles Club. Stream them below.
Prior to now, “When I Goose-Step,” “The Gloating Sun”, and the original version of “New Slang” (which was initially titled “When You Notice the Stripes”) were first available as a tour-only CD EP in 1999. Later that same year, Omnibus Records released “When I Goose-Step” and “The Gloating Sun” as a 7-inch. Of course, “New Slang” was later released on the album Oh, Inverted World in 2001, but the other two songs have been long out-of-print ever since then, making them cost a pretty penny online.
“When I Goose-Step” sounds like the glory days of The Shins, all quickening ’60s folk pop rhythm and blissed out vocals. It absolutely could have been a single or even a proper hit if it was released on an album. “The Gloating Sun”, arguably the rarer of the songs as it was the B-side, is a delightfully sunny number. Clocking in just under two minutes, it sounds unhurried and optimistic, full of rich vocal harmonies and a simple acoustic guitar hook that will start your day off right. Give both songs a listen below (The latter in its remastered form hasn’t been uploaded just yet).
(Read: Classic Review: The Shins’ Chutes Too Narrow)
For those looking to own a physical copy of the new Sub Pop single, you’re unfortunately too late. The December 2019 installments of the Sub Pop Singles Club, on which these new-again songs by The Shins appear, have already been mailed and subscriptions are completely sold out. However, you can still sign up for the Volume 5/2020-21 edition of the club, with an entirely new set of artists, and cross your fingers you get this lucky with a similarly special pressing.
Last month, The Shins released two new songs, “Waimanalo” and “Trapped By the Sea”, as part of a 7-inch honoring late bandmate Richard Swift. It’s the first new music they’ve dropped since their 2017 album Heartworms and the “flipped” version of that record known as The Worm’s Heart.