The Pelican’s Perch

The Shins Content Not Changing Your Life On Latest Album (link)

“You gotta hear this one song. It’ll change your life I swear”

You’re probably rolling your eyes by now thinking, “Another Shins reviewer quoting

Garden State?” I would be, but honestly there was no other way for me to start this review than to quote Natalie Portman.

The truth is The Shins have never changed my life. Their first two albums were both excellent, but they never ranked among the best album I owned and usually went a few months without a listen until something Shins-related happened and I’d dig them out again.

Garden State was the obvious one that rekindled my love for the Shins, but last summer I interned at Sub Pop, The Shins’ record label, and had the chance to meet the band personally. The answer to your question is yes, they are as laid back and friendly as their music would suggest.

That being said, I was more than excited to hear their newest effort, Wincing the Night Away, wondering how James Mercer and the Shins would respond to all the

Garden State hype. Three years in the making, Wincing the Night Away became that answer, and quite frankly, it is exactly the kind of response I had expected; nothing changed.

It is clear from the very first song, “Sleeping Lessons” that James Mercer never planned to follow up the critically acclaimed Chutes Too Narrow with anything life changing. The Shins troop begin the album with mellow vibraphones over James Mercer’s vocals, adding the rest of the band soon after to create a mini-climax that never reaches too much higher than the vibraphones that began the song. This seems to be a constant theme throughout the album that initially turned me off of the album, but became the very reason I kept coming back time and time again. Mercer’s gift for melody is undeniable, and even the slowest of songs on Wincing the Night Away will get stuck in your head. Whether or not you know what “On the faith of ruddy sons/And the double-barreled guns/You better hurry/Rabbit, run, run, run” even means, it’s still fun to sing along with.

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.