Thanks a lot, Zach Braff. Since rolling the Mainline dice and finding out that I would be the one to review the Shins’ Wincing the Night Away, I’ve been excited to get back into the record reviewing game. Even before the new album came in the mail, I was already thinking of things to write about the Shins. In fact, I would say that I had a million ideas about the record, until I’d listened to it once… then twice… and then a third time. What happened? Garden State happened, you son of a bitch.
Even though I haven’t seen the movie since it was released in the theatres, as I listened to Wincing the Night Away I was worried for my indie credibility. Would giving the album a positive review make me a member of the Braffite army? Did it mean that I would have to think a lot of deep thoughts about being past the age of (gasp) twenty? Or did it just mean that I was sticking to my integrity and giving a good album a good review? And what if I wasn’t liking some songs because I was buying into a backlash against the waves of kids who were starting facebook groups entitled “GARDEN STATE CHANGED MY LIFE, DUDES!!!”?
Despite these doubts, however, I did come to one conclusion: even if I wasn’t as moved or impressed by that film as a lot of other members of my peer group, it was effective in building the Shins an audience. The moment when Natalie Portman enacts every straight indie guy’s dream scenario of a hot girl urging him to ignore her and just listen to music helped to explode the Shins’ popularity. Three years after that moment cemented itself onto everyone’s brains, Wincing the Night Away is now the #2 record in the United States.
So, what about the album itself? In a sense, it’s exactly what you might expect from a Shins record: unless a moment happens to especially showcase the music, it doesn’t really grab at at the listener. Instead, it floats and wisps through the speakers, frontman James Mercer emoting with his usual soft grace. Album opener “Sleeping Lessons” is fiercely evocative. Even when the Shins begin to “rock out” (well, um, turn up their amps), the moment doesn’t break its dream world feel; instead it’s a propulsion, as if the listener had suddenly sprouted wings and catapulted into a vast sky of sound.
By the second track, however, it’s clear that this is a new direction for the Shins. “Australia” is a sweet indie-pop follow up, but somehow in there, it feels as if the Shins decided to try doing an upbeat, bouncy song with Morissey-lite lyrics. Mercer wails a lot. The production feels very indie-’80s; which is awesome. And unlike a Morissey or Smiths song, there’s no smartass pay off. (I know it’s weird to feel this way, because “Australia” sounds like a sweet song, but I would have been really gratified if after “find a handsome young mate for you” there was a great big “…Fatty”.) And if you want to feel even more as if you’re listening to the Smiths-lite, try “Phantom Limb.” Shit, I’ll bet you that James Mercer was wearing a priest’s collar and trying to comb his hair into a pompadour while singing Wincing the Night Away in the studio.
Despite all of the Smiths references (or perhaps because of them), I genuinely enjoyed this record. But for long term fans who are more used to the Shins which seemed to have sprung from the indie rock womb listening to Donovan, Big Star, and Badfinger, both Mercer’s singing and the production on a good number of tracks is going to seem like a huge surprise. It wasn’t until “Red Rabbits” that I could completely remember the Shins of past records. Yet, for those willing to steer away from being a stereotypical indie rock fan (and yes, I do mean all of you who are saying the Shins are played-out now that they’ve had a top ten record), the Shins’ Wincing the Night Away is well worth a listen.
- Megan Giddings
The Shins’ Official Site
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