The Shins, Wincing the Night Away

When you get albums for review from labels, they generally come accompanied by a press release that is meant to color your perception of the album they have just sent you. The press is supposed to give you pointers on what you are to be thinking. In reading these things, you will inevitably find that many of the articles are similar and touch on the talking points that the label is trying to get across.

With Wincing the Night Away, the Sub Pop press machine (which in reality is probably less like a machine and more like one person) wants you to take away a couple things: that this new Shins album sounds something like Echo and the Bunnymen or ’60s pop and that Natalie Portman’s character in Garden State said that the Shins’ “New Slang” (from 2001 release Oh, Inverted World) could “change your life.” The former makes a kind of sense, because comparing an album being reviewed to an album that you may already be familiar with is one of the fastest (some would say laziest) ways to get across in words what the music sounds like. The latter bit — mentioned in four separate articles — is somewhat confusing to me, because I’m not sure sure how Queen Amidala’s musical taste tells me anything about the music of the Shins.

There are indeed bits of Wincing the Night Away that sound like ’60s pop, but it’s a heavily ’80s-influenced ’60s pop, like the Echo and the Bunnymen that they mention in the press release, but only vaguely like Echo and the Bunnymen (nobody ever accused me of not being lazy). A better comparison would be a different ’60s-via-’80s band: Tears for Fears. Both the Shins and Tears for Fears reinterpret ’60s pop and both Tears Fears’ Roland Orzabal and the Shins’ James Mercer have — how shall I put it? — quirky voices.

Usually when you read about quirky voices, you’re getting a euphemism for “out of tune,” but that’s not the case here. In this case, I use “quirky” to describe a voice that is primarily employed at the upper end of its range and the voice’s owner struggles — just a little — to keep it there. Other offenders in this category might be Rush’s Geddy Lee, Yes’ Jon Anderson, and XTC’s Andy Partridge. It’s okay to hear for a while, but not for extended listenings. If you’ve ever tried, you know how grating it can get.

It’s a shame about the vocals, too, because there really is some sparkling pop on Wincing the Night Away, stuff that I might well listen to over and over. The production is lush, with keyboards, strings, and other interesting sonic textures that make you want to listen closely. If you’re a Shins fan, don’t worry; the production is only marginally more lush than that on the Shins’ last full-length, Chutes Too Narrow, so you won’t be surprised or disappointed there. The biggest difference is that there are fewer upbeat songs on Wincing that you fans might describe as Supercatchy. I’m here to tell you, though, that’s a good thing.

If you’re like me and you enjoy listening to a whole album, rather than one song, dynamics are key. The songs can’t all be upbeat, because you need a little space for things to sink in. So listen to the whole album and don’t be afraid of the moody ones. As Mercer sings in “Red Rabbits”: “So help me, I don’t know, I might / Just give the old dark side a try.” Oh — the dark side — that’s what Queen Amidala has to do with the Shins. It makes sense now.