SectionsContent on latest Shins album not going to change your life
Kevin Ehlers
Issue date: 3/30/07 Section: Features
The first single, "Australia", will please Shins fans both old and new, as it provides the album's catchiest melodies, most Mercer-like lyricism, and is simply the most fun song The Shins have made in a while. The rest of the album follows the blueprint set by the opening two songs. Songs like "Red Rabbits", which is this album's "Young Pilgrims", and "Black Wave" float along with barely there instrumentation, while "Sea Legs" and "Turn on Me" give the album much needed energy.
One of the best songs on the album is the hauntingly upbeat "Spilt Needles", which showcases how hard the Shins have worked perfecting their studio sound over the last three years. The synth line creeps in and out throughout the song as Mercer's lyrics paint the story of a hopeless character, one most believe this entire album is about, reaching the bottom. There's no denying the power of lyrics such as "It's like I'm perched on the handle bars of a blind man's bike/No straws to grab just the rushing wind on the rolling mind". Most times I don't have the slightest idea what Mercer's lyrics mean and am content with simply singing along. But with Wincing the Night Away, I spent quite some time dissecting this tale of a character losing all faith in the world around them, only to find the good in life by the end.
When all is said and done, Wincing the Night Away isn't the best album The Shins have made, but The Shins never set out to top their previous albums. You can rate it on a scale of 1-change your life if you feel so inclined, but you'd just be better off enjoying the album for what it is; an excellent, laid-back pop album not out to impress anyone.
One of the best songs on the album is the hauntingly upbeat "Spilt Needles", which showcases how hard the Shins have worked perfecting their studio sound over the last three years. The synth line creeps in and out throughout the song as Mercer's lyrics paint the story of a hopeless character, one most believe this entire album is about, reaching the bottom. There's no denying the power of lyrics such as "It's like I'm perched on the handle bars of a blind man's bike/No straws to grab just the rushing wind on the rolling mind". Most times I don't have the slightest idea what Mercer's lyrics mean and am content with simply singing along. But with Wincing the Night Away, I spent quite some time dissecting this tale of a character losing all faith in the world around them, only to find the good in life by the end.
When all is said and done, Wincing the Night Away isn't the best album The Shins have made, but The Shins never set out to top their previous albums. You can rate it on a scale of 1-change your life if you feel so inclined, but you'd just be better off enjoying the album for what it is; an excellent, laid-back pop album not out to impress anyone.
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russian girlfriend
posted 3/21/10 @ 6:45 AM CST
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