Ever since Natalie Portman cued The Shins in Garden State and told Zach Braff, "You gotta hear this song -- it'll change your life," the Portland rockers elevated to a whole new indie pop status. Their quirky and up-tempo jams have reverberated forth ... even throughout the chamber of our very own Wilson 402, where infamous English professor Michael Levenson has been known to conduct his 300-plus person class in a chorus of "lah-dah-dah-dahs" from Shins' song "Saint Simon." (Listen to this jam at song-time 1:22 and you'll hear what I'm talking about.)
Weary of my dried-up Top 25 Most Played iTunes scores, I was eager for what I thought the new Shins' album, Wincing the Night Away, would deliver. I expected the sort of infectious and exhilarating dose of psychedelic melody found in their last two albums, but what I got was something quite different.
The "digital booklet" that accompanies the iTunes download of the latest Shins' project says it candidly: "To play music for a long time, you have to surprise the people that love you -- while also surprising yourself." Wincing the Night Away surprises indeed.
Perky major-key melodies are replaced with much heavier patterns of rhythm and instrumentation. Jams are steeped in dense emotion communicated through reverberating guitar riffs, wailing and ethereal vocals and shrill string accompaniments. There's even a subtle touch of the sinister.
In keeping with Guster's evolution in Ganging Up On the Sun and in Yo La Tengo's I'm Not Afraid of You And I Will Beat Your Ass, The Shins have matured, like it or not, toward a more complex and schizophrenic sound. There's a richer, overlapping musicality and a newfound moodiness.
The album recalls the tonal quality of Modest Mouse, Interpol or Minus The Bear. Its digital jacket aptly testifies that Wincing the Night Away "is the sound of a band growing up and out."
Most representative of the band's more serious style are scores such as "Black Wave," in which watery vocals echo throughout as if sung in a dank and cavernous cathedral. The song's guitar segment runs in a mesmerizing loop. Lyrics and mood cooperate as James Mercer sings, "In the meadow where the black breeze blows / Or underneath the waves / You are most alone / Can you hear a subtle aching tone / Through the water, through the earth, / To chill your bones?" The quality of sound is otherworldly, eerie and enchanting.
In addition to the classic guitar and bass foundations that underlie this sound, the Shins frequently use a host of eclectic instruments to create a cacophonous and vibrating sound - ukulele, banjo, cat piano, organ and synthesizer.
In spite of the album's unexpected chilliness, you might question what lingers from before. The Shins' intricate, sometimes clamoring and yet invariably exquisite melodic style is still present. Vocals wail and twang high and low, meandering through enticingly bizarre strings of unconventional verses and bridges. Scores "Australia," "Red Rabbits" and "Girl Sailor" jive with the familiar indie pop energy of the band's first two albums. The darker tunes are balanced with lighter melodies, and single songs alternate between buoyancy and melancholy.
Though I respect The Shins' refashioned sound, and I have come to appreciate it, none of Wincing the Night Away's numbers have achieved Top 25 Most Played status in my iTunes library. The band's musical artistry is better than ever, but they've sacrificed some of the bouncy flair of their first two records. Some may not mind the lack of catchiness, but for those of you like me, you may miss the singsong funk that even managed to find its way into the University English curriculum.
Read More
The best albums of 2014
By Noah Zeidman | December 4, 2014Across genres, it has been a pretty great year in music.
Top 10 movies of 2014
December 4, 2014This has been an excellent year for film, offering everything from gripping blockbusters to innovative personal films.
Iggy Azalea is “Reclassified”
December 4, 2014It has become common practice among music artists to repackage their albums in an effort to simultaneously boost single sales and dish out new content by slightly renaming the album or slapping “Deluxe” onto the title.
