A Week With The Shins' "Wincing The Night Away": Day 4

15 February 2007
tell your friends... tell your friends...

Words by Jacob Henneman // Illustration by Abigail Bruley

I have yet to see a serious promotional photo leading up to this album. I’ve seen Mercer and company bouncing gleefully on trampolines, posing as naval captain and crew, smirking or raising their eyebrows as a kid would do in the mirror, and I’ve seen them looking perplexed in life jackets and crudely colored bathing suits.

Wincing is a turning point for the Shins from a songwriting outfit to one that has songs. This doesn’t make it better than the previous albums, and I’ll not compare it to them because doing so would be unjust as different as they are. What it means is the band is more committed to every facet of the songs – the atmosphere, the subtle nuances, the layer beneath the layer, which catches the ear only after the dozenth listen. Sure, the edges are somewhat more rounded, but a smoother surface allows you to nestle up to it, and embrace it comfortably. Where the edges are too smooth is where this album gets in a little trouble, though. I wouldn’t call the weaker tracks filler, or b-sides, or necessarily that bad, but compared to the immaculate pop songs, they don’t stack up.

Their mischievous edges may have been sanded off the previous records, but these guys still know how to have fun, funny face, jumping on trampoline fun, and with a band like this, that’s all that really matters.

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