Feature Album: The Shins - Wincing The Night Away

Don’t you just hate them? What makes The Shins so special? They're an ordinary band that just got a break because of that Garden State movie, right? I mean, there were some hooky songs on that last record but I bet they'll either follow their own formula and regurgitate more of the same tunes or disappear altogether.

Wrong, wrong, wrong…

Expectations have been high for The Shins' third installment, Wincing The Night Away. They chose to record the album in – among other low-key locations - the basement of singer/ guitarist, James Mercer's Portland home. (The title was selected due to Mercer's tendency to lay in bed at the end of the day, wincing at what he may have said or done during the day).

The Shins have graduated. Unlike Oh, Inverted World and Chutes Too Narrow and with the assistance of Joe Chiccarelli (Beck, Frank Zappa, U2) behind the production room glass, The Shins have discovered a lushness in sound unlike anything they've achieved to date.

As is often the case with songs that transcend the perfunctory listen, that surpass the amount of time required to transfer one's attention to the next download or CD on one's audio "To do" list and become part of the fabric of your life - the soundtrack to your morning commute, the playlist for those dreaded hours spent on the treadmill at Crunch, the cozy Sunday breakfasts spent on the sofa buried in newspaper blankets, the frosty walk home from the Bowery Ballroom after a gig - The Shins have succeeded in navigating this collection of songs through two critical areas which will see them be referred to as classics:

Firstly, they manage to harness the "space" within these tracks. Though arguably more experimental and less inclusive of bells and whistles found in previous work, listening to songs like A Comet Appears, Turn On Me, Sea Legs, and the album's climactic opener, Sleeping Lessons, the listener has time during these spaces to fill in their own blanks, to make the songs be both the vehicle and the backdrop for their mind's destination.

Secondly, Wincing's tracks are layered throughout with rich production; strings, percussion, synth, piano, guitar, vocals, which allow the listener the pleasure of discovering new textures within the conventional song structures, layered melodies and vocal harmonies. This collection of songs, in allowing for constant rediscovery, are truly sublime for they become like dear companions over time.

Though sure to be criticized for their slight deviation in production style, Mercer's lot also remain true to their origins and satisfy the traditionalist fan with Girl Sailor, Phantom Limb and Australia.

Rest assured, your Shins haven't deserted you, they're merely growing up.

The Shins, Wincing The Night Away is out now on Sub Pop

Tags:   Album Feature, Beck, Bowery Ballroom, Frank Zappa, Indie Bands, New Music, Sub Pop, The Shins, U2

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Posted on 2/1/2007 ( Permanent Link )
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