released in October 2003

The royalties Mercer earned from the commercial allowed him to purchase a home and relocate to Portland , Oregon , where the group built a basement studio and recorded their second album, Chutes Too Narrow (2003). During this period, the group replaced Langford on bass with Dave Hernandez (from Scared of Chaka). Having cut ties with a bad relationship and a bad job, Mercer felt his songwriting reflected a broader perspective as a result. Although recording in the basement was less than pleasant, the band found it “cheaper than a real studio”. The home was broken into at one point, and thieves stole the master tapes for Oh, Inverted World . The album was released in October 2003 to critical acclaim, appearing on numerous music critics’ and publications’ end-of-year albums lists. It also became their first album to chart, peaking at number 86 on the Billboard 200 .