The Shins album cover, Chutes Too Narrow, was released in October, 2003. It was designed by Jesse Le Douxville, who, at the time, was an Art Director at Sub Pop records in Seattle. Le Douxville illustrated a whimsical and relatable, die-cut, fold-out album cover, unlike most seen to date. Every inch of packaging is covered in playful, doodle-like illustrations of a make-believe land, where modern physics does not reign supreme. From die-cutting and layering the front cover to selective gloss printing, Le Douxville combined a variety of illustrative and printing styles that made this album cover unique and memorable. The style looks hand-made with a big touch of contemporary digital graphics, which were only just beginning to be used at this time. Playful illustrations with literal and figurative depth, perfectly mimic the sound of the music, described in a 2003 Pitchfork review as blissful, sly and beautiful. Le Douxville was a Best Album Packaging Grammy nominee 2005, competing against Wilco and Ani DeFranco album designs.
Despite not winning Best Packaging Design that year, La Douxville will go down in history for one of the most iconic album covers of the Early Aughts, as the band's sophomore release became a part of the zeitgeist in the Indie-Pop world. Their label, Sub Pop records, who brought grunge to light and put Seattle on the map as a contemporary music mecca, were very focused on having an Art and Design department that matched the quality of their musicians. As grunge aged out, bands like The Shins, filled the gap for unique sounds and recording styles. Sub Pop continued to foster these artists, setting the bar high for the music scene throughout the US. It was within this supportive, creative environment, filled with extremely talented individuals that Jesse Le Douxville created this one-of-a-kind album cover!
- ladouxville.com. “THE SHINS-Chutes Too Narrow album packaging.” Retrieved October 18, 2024. https://ledouxville.com/shins-chutes-too-narrow.
- Pop Matters. “Shins’ Defining Work 20 Years Later.” Last modified October 24, 2023. https://www.popmatters.com/the-shins-chutes-too-narrow-atr20.
- Big Red and Shiny. “Welcome to LeDouxville: A Conversation with Jesse LeDoux.” Last modified February 4, 2008. https://bigredandshiny.org/5757/%EF%BB%BF%EF%BB%BFwelcome-to-ledouxville-a-conversation-jesse-ledoux/.
- Sub Pop. “About Sub Pop.” Retrieved October 15, 2024. https://www.subpop.com/about.
- Red Bull Music. “Sub Pop.” Retrieved October 15, 2024. https://www.redbullmusicacademy.com/lectures/subpop-session.
- Choose Washington. “Sub Pop: The Sound of Music for Over 30 Years.” Retrieved October 15, 2024. https://choosewashingtonstate.com/sub-pop-the-sound-of-music/.
- Pitchfork. “Albums: Chutes Too Narrow: The Shins: 2003.” Last Modified October 20, 2003. https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/7114-chutes-too-narrow/.
