The Shins - Wincing the Night Away

The Shins
Wincing the Night Away
Sub Pop Records
Grade: A-

The expectations for the Shins’ third record, Wincing the Night Away, were ginormous. People far and wide were fixating and betting on the outcome like drunken tourists who’ve been up for two days trying to win back their life fortunes in Vegas. Add to that, everyone you know now has at least heard of the Shins – you may have to mention the scene in Garden State for them to pick up on it – and so you had a group of disinterested folks waiting to diss on the band if Wincing sucked. Thankfully, and with a bit of work, the eleven songs here serve as a treat and have the ability to both keep and win some fans.

The Albuquerque-born four-piece first jolted the indie music consciousness with their 2001 Sub Pop debut Oh! Inverted World. Fun, yeh-yeh, Oh Inverted introduced you to the 60s harmonies indie pop that the Shins excel in. Relatively quickly, with a move to Portland, came the terrifically designed 2003 Chutes Too Narrow. A strong album in its own right, Chutes gained massive popularity due to Garden State coming out in 2004. For some, though, Oh Inverted still rocked the house (and continues to). Touring and building an even larger fan base was the Shins’ life for 2003 to 2005. Taking time off to work on this record, anxiety and awkwardness ensued for the band, particularly for lead vocalist, songwriter, and guitarist James Mercer. As relayed in a Rolling Stone bit, Mercer was initially under some external pressure from crack-dealers who lived next to him – ouch! But, holding down the fort in Portland, Mercer worked in his home studio to craft these eleven winners. Mercer, along with bassist Marty Crandall, guitarist Dave Hernandez, and drummer Jesse Sandoval, recorded in several locations in Oregon with producer Joe Chiccarelli. With the time, money, and expertise, the Shins drenched this record with a shroud of lushness, and helps invigorate and expand on their perfect indie pop love.

Wincing the Night Away begins with haunting and strangeness on “Sleeping Lessons.” Floating, stoned keyboards and Mercer’s vocals lead the way slowly to the full on indie rock that creeps in halfway through and then slams the table. The Shins it is! If you, like me, are an uber-fan of the Shins’ warm 60s indie pop goosebump producers, there’s enough here for your fix. How about the fantastic follower “Australia”? Or, the brilliantly catchy “Phantom Limb,” which indeed rolls on like “New Slang” and lyric-wise is reportedly about two lesbian high schoolers? And on this last note, I realize now that content wise, the Shins could be singing about beating baby seals over the head, but as long as they did with the pop sheen, I would love it. It’s probably a bad thing not to search for meaning, but you simply get entranced here. Other songs to catch the classic Shins’ sound are “Turn On Me,” the simply scored “Girl Sailor,” and the more toned-down closer “A Comet Appears” that includes a Simon and Garfunkel vocal cadence. However, the Shins also include a series of songs that buck the “Shins’ sound” and help establish new, impressive directions. This includes the slight hip-hop drum beat driven “Sealegs,” where Mercer extends his vocal range and psych keys are added near the end; some call it a Morrissey-like expansion, but I don’t hear it unless you stretch the parallel. The follower “Red Rabbits,” with the assistant of Chris Funk from the Decemberists, slinks lightly past and includes a whimsical Charlotte’s Web-patterned vocal bridge. “Black Wave” and “Split Needles” also are deviations for the Shins, where the first is more haunting and the latter includes a variety of synthesizers and samples to enliven the sound.

We already know that people love Wincing the Night Away given that it came out in late January and it was number 2 on the Billboard charts in its first week. Yes, people like it. And with a correct dose of 60s indie pop and sound twists, you should too.