Coming off their critically acclaimed debut "Oh, Inverted World," and an equally popular sophomore release "Chutes Too Narrow," the Albuquerque natives are playing the tough roles of indie darling, mainstream success and "next big thing" simultaneously.
Luckily, they have the guns to back up their reputation, delivering a catchy album that stays true to their roots but show some musical evolution at the same time. "Wincing" does not disappoint.
In the film "Garden State," my future wife Natalie Portman introduces the song "New Slang," from The Shins' debut CD by saying, "You gotta hear this one song, it'll change your life, I swear." While no single song on "Wincing" stands out as life-changing, the album as a whole is a sure hit.
The lone weak track on the record is the miniscule, 56-second "Pam Berry" which serves less as a standalone song than as a lead-in to the fourth track, "Phantom Limb." Indeed, lead singer James Mercer, in an interview with Billboard.com, described the record as 10 songs and a short introduction, rather than simply eleven tracks. Leaving "Pam Berry" aside, the album is nearly flawless.
The lead-off track "Sleeping Lessons" draws in the listener with an airy introduction, turning into a jazzy jaunt that then becomes a rockin' jam. The second track, "Australia" urges the listener to "Give me your hand, and let's jump out the window!"
The album never looks back. Picking highlights or listing standout tracks from "Wincing " would basically consist of naming the songs on the record. "Australia," "Phantom Limb," and "Girl Sailor" are upbeat winners, while "A Comet Appears," "Sea Legs," and "Red Rabbits" capitalize on slower beats and more muted vocals. "Split Needles," my personal favorite, is best characterized simply as "a Shins song," profound and playful at the same time.
As is typical of The Shins' releases, "Wincing" is a nonstop onslaught of lyrical mastery, filled with philosophical reflections and profound observations. Simultaneously indecipherable and oddly apropos, lines like "It's like I'm perched on the handlebars/Of a blind man's bike/No straws to grab, just the rushing wind/On the rolling mind" litter the release, delighting and baffling audiences everywhere.
Where the lyrics leave the listener wondering what in the world is going on, the melodies pick up the slack, reminding listeners that things don't need to make sense to be invigorating. The Shins thrive in this balance.
That the principles of space and silence contribute more than notes and vocals to tracks is a new approach to The Shins' recordings. The tracks feel lighter, more open and airy, despite more obvious vocals than on "Oh, Inverted World" and have more varied instrumentation than on "Chutes Too Narrow."
"Wincing" is also a bit more cohesive than its predecessors. Throughout the album, Mercer refers to a girl and a boy who are on a journey together. Over the course of the record's 41 minutes, the two of them meet, fall in love, do drugs, fall out of love and begin to reexamine their lives.
The album, however, stands separate from this journey, and unlike other conceptual "story albums," the relationships between tracks are tangential at best.
Indeed, in many ways "Wincing" does not represent any departure from The Shins' tried-and-true formula. Rhythms are similar, vocals familiar and lyrics profound. But it would be wrong to say that the band is just recycling old material or fulfilling a formula. "Wincing" combines the buoyant bounce of "Oh, Inverted World" with the vocal-centered crispness of "Chutes Too Narrow" to create what is without a doubt the most balanced entry the band has put together.
Added quirks, like the vaudevillian vocal swings at the end of "Australia," the jingling beats of "Sea Legs" and the interrupting synthesizers of "Split Needles," push The Shins to new heights, allowing them to serve up another great album without being pigeonholed as a one-trick pony.
And when the dust settles and everyone looks around, the unassuming boys from Albuquerque have made another great album.
