The Music
The sound is usually described as Indie rock. Indie Music is used to refer specifically to various genres or sounds of music that runs parallel to more commercial music. During the 1980s, Indie Music was synonymous in Great Britain with jangly guitar pop of the C-86 movement. During the 1990s Indie music became more expansive and established as a growing number of musicians and fans began seeking alternatives to the mainstream music establishment. The Shins are an example of an Indie Music Band that is not (currently) with one of the Big 4 record labels, but is under contract with Sub Pop. There they can shine as the champions of uncertainty and understatement. 
Unlike many of their successful Indie peers, The Shins don't want to change your life, the band's biggest strength is the gift for creating a deep sense of the familiar. Many of The Shins' best songs evoke a feeling of comfort and closeness that's immediately recognizable but rarely experienced.