The Shins’ “Chutes Too Narrow” is the second installment from a band heralded in 2001 as the second coming of the Beach Boys.

“Oh, Inverted World” (2001) burst into stereos with a songwriting and production style so fresh that critics fell over each other to heap praise on the band.

-With this year’s release, “Chutes Too Narrow,” the band has moved away from the “I’m singing to you from the bottom of a well” vocals to burst into new, straightforward songs. The dreamy waft of the songs has been shrugged off to display lead singer James Mercer’s confidence in his melodies.

While the melodies of the new album ring with a keenness that wasn’t quite so prominent on the last album, the songs struggle to retain the same consistency that they showed on “Oh, Inverted World.”

The first two tracks, “Kissing the Lipless” and “Mine’s Not a High Horse,” are flawless bits of The Shins unadulterated. Some of the remaining tracks, such as “So Says I,” fall victim to what are quickly becoming our generation’s rock clichés — featuring a sassy Mercer crying, “And the big ones just eat all the little ones.

“Chutes Too Narrow” does find The Shins moving into new territory, following temptations to experiment in the more upbeat. Although some of it comes close to tearing away The Shins’ title of Best Thing to Happen to Pop Music in Years, “Chutes Too Narrow” pulls enough gems out of its sleeve to tentatively hold onto the title.