Flake Music

Albuquerque, New Mexico’s Flake Music, the ensemble that later evolved into the Shins, issued a series of singles beginning in 1993 along with one complete album, the 1997 release When You Land Here, It’s Time to Return on Omnibus Records. Singer/songwriter/guitarist James Mercer assembled the lineup in 1992 under the initial name Flake, with drummer Jesse Sandoval, keyboardist Marty Crandall, and bassist Neal Langford completing the roster. The musicians soon adopted the moniker Flake Music and produced luminous guitar-based pop that channeled the euphoric intensity associated with Robert Smith’s finest work. Once When You Land Here, It’s Time to Return appeared, the four-piece reshaped itself as the Shins, swapping roles and stage positions; by 1999 the original project had effectively dissolved after Langford also entered the Shins.