The
3.5 stars
Written 02/05/07
The Shins established themselves as college rock giants with 2003’s Chutes Too Narrow. The highly anticipated follow-up, Wincing the Night Away, is a solid album, but it’s not a masterpiece by any means. Whenever a band releases a masterpiece, which Chutes certainly was, the next record certainly will be held against it, however unfair that may be. It’s human nature.
The Shins’ third album, Wincing offers enough of the soaring melodies and bright and jangly guitar riffs to keep fans of their earlier music happy, but the record in general is much more experimental. In “Sealegs,†the Albuquerque, N.M., band experiments with prog rock of all things. “Red Rabbits†sounds Hawaiian. The vocals are filtered at times. Most of the different music styles work well. The exception is the haunting, yet boring song “Black Wave.â€
The lyrics are obtuse for the most part. The album’s first single, “Phantom Limb,†is the highlight of the album melodically, but the lyrics are confusing. It still is the best song on the album. The overall feel the lyrics give can be described as sad and defeatist. “I felt like I could just fly but nothing happened every time I tried.†“There is a numbness in your heart and it’s growing.†The lyrics may resonate with just-out-of-college kids going through quarter-life crises discovering for the first time they may not attain their dreams.
You cannot help but feel enlightened and academic when you listen to The Shins’ music. You can put them on when your mom’s in the car, but they somehow retain a cool edge. So many times bands try to rewrite their masterpieces and fail. The Shins escaped that, and Wincing shows the band is willing to develop and experiment, while maintaining their trademark sound.
Scale:
0. Shoot yourself
1. Poor
2. So-So
3. Good
4. Excellent
5. Instant classic