The Shins

"Wincing the Night Away"
The Shins
Sub Pop
2007

Well, it's finally here: the first full length album from The Shins since 2003's Chutes Too Narrow was released today by Sub Pop. The Shins are a band from Albuquerque, NM that have been making music together since 2001. Their debut album Oh, Inverted World! was an indie hit. After Chutes Too Narrow came out in 2003, the band was touring constantly when two of their songs from Inverted were featured in Zach Braff's film Garden State. The band found themselves riding a wave of popularity following the movie that kept them on the road and out of the studio until recently.

The new album, Wincing the Night Away, features 11 new songs in the Shins' tried and true dream-pop style. The shining gem is probably the first single, Phantom Limb, which sounds like The Smiths on LSD. Lead singer James Mercer's voice is both ethereal and melancholy while the music is chock full of minor chords, syths, twangy guitars, and surf riffs. Phantom Limb is exactly the kind of song that fans have come to expect from The Shins.

The rest of the songs on the album don't have as many catchy hooks, but they are all beautiful and dreamy. The 80's influenced song, Turn on Me, is probably my next favorite song. I get the feeling, though, that Mercer has been worshipping at the altar of The Smiths, which is ok by me. Sea Legs features some string arrangements, which the band hasn't tried before, that work relatively well.

All in all, Wincing The Night Away is a pretty damn good pop album with serene and surreal music.
**** (4 stars)