The Observer, February 2, 2007
Volume XXXIX, Issue 15
The Shins disappoint with Wincing the Night Away
The Shins' previous two albums, Oh, Inverted World and Chutes Too Narrow, associated them with a unique indie-pop sound. When I hit play on their new album Wincing the Night Away, released Jan. 23, I went from being disappointed to thoughtful to even more disappointed. By golly, they've changed.
Wincing the Night Away feels far more relaxed than I've ever known the Shins to be, with a few exceptions. The opening track, "Sleeping Lessons," starts out so slowly that narcoleptics might think twice about listening to this one. About midway through, it transforms and becomes much more upbeat and exciting – which is, unfortunately, the most exciting the album gets. Wincing the Night Away's sound is far more developed than any previous work, but nearly devoid of hooks. Lead singer James Mercer does far more with his voice than ever before; it almost sounds like an instrument. Technical prowess aside, I don't like it. Mercer's voice is made to reach out and grab the listener instead of blending into the music, as it does in Wincing the Night Away.
The album starts out with the identity- crisis-in-song "Sleeping Lessons." This song could have just as easily been the bonus track on the Killers' Hot Fuss and no one would have raised an eyebrow. Seriously. Wincing then moves on to "Australia," which sounds a bit more like the Shins of old, and then comes to the utterly incomprehensible "Pam Berry." Look at it this way: if "Pam Berry" were a person on the street who walked up to me she would earn nothing more and nothing less than a blank stare.
Next up is "Phantom Limb," the standout and perhaps only memorable song on this album. Released earlier as a single, "Phantom Limb" retains more of that loveable, indie-pop Shins sound than any other track. The good mood that "Phantom Limb" inspires carries over into the next song, "Sea Legs," until Morrissey from the Smiths takes over the vocals. James Mercer, you should be ashamed. The next few tracks on Wincing the Night Away escape without making much of an impression. Most suffer from heavy synthesizer use and repeat the same sounds previously heard on the album. "Girl Sailor" earns a thumbs-up with its pleasant riffs and thoughtful lyrics like, "You've made it through the direst of straits alright/Can you help it if plain love now seems less interesting?" The last track, "A Comet Appears," closes the album competently, with little fanfare.
Don't get me wrong, I still think the album is decent. But the Shins can and have done so much better. Wincing the Night Away does have its good points, but pales in comparison with the Shins' previous work. The sound from those albums is what made the band famous and its pull was largely abandoned in Wincing.
Should you go out and buy Wincing the Night Away? I'm going to say no. Instead, go buy Chutes Too Narrow and revel in the creativity and interesting sounds that made the Shins great.
