The Shins' 'Wincing': A New Sound, but Not Dumbed Down

By J. Freedom du Lac
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2007

Well, of course Shins frontman James Mercer can't sleep. So much pressure. Such high expectations.

Mercer told Rolling Stone that his "crippling insomnia" inspired the title of the band's new album, "Wincing the Night Away" -- and who can blame him? You'd be up all night, too, if you knew your work would be judged on a scale of zero to It'll change your life. ("Wincing" falls in the middle.)

Much has transpired since the indie darlings released their last recording, 2003's "Chutes Too Narrow." The following year, in "Garden State," Natalie Portman told Zach Braff that he had to hear the Shins song "New Slang." "It'll change your life," she promised, and the band's profile exploded. Two weeks ago, the Shins even crashed "Saturday Night Live." The musicians celebrated the engagement by dressing as though they were headed to a dull office party afterward, all Dockers and insurance-underwriter ties.

The Shins might not be spending money on a flashy wardrobe, but they've clearly given themselves a makeover. They've become more ambitious and adventurous (even as they've become more glum), apparently with a studio budget to match. Once known as jangle-pop specialists, they've laced the overproduced "Wincing the Night Away" with programmed rhythm tracks, processed vocals, distorted instruments and -- gasp! -- synthesizers.

It's not an image the band wears particularly well.

Consider "Sea Legs," an awkward trip-hop song built on a stuttering drum loop and punctuated by psychedelic flourishes. "When the dog slides underneath the train / There's no prior use to searching for the mutt's remains," Mercer sings cryptically, his voice laden with reverb.

"Red Rabbits" features a dripping-faucet beat and a dreamlike synthesized soundscape as Mercer sings: "Out of a gunnysack fall red rabbits / Into the crucible to be rendered an emulsion."

We waited four years for this?

Actually, "Wincing" does have multiple moments of greatness. They're typically found when the Shins stick to their core competency -- literary, melodic guitar pop -- as on the jaunty "Australia" and the chiming "Phantom Limb." The latter features some of the album's most evocative writing, what with Mercer singing of "another afternoon of the goat-head tunes and the pilfered booze."

Mercer hasn't exactly dumbed down his lyrics as the Shins have landed in the mainstream. His writing is more dense and precious than ever, occasionally to the point of seeming unbearably affected -- as if Colin Meloy of the Decemberists served as the album's consulting writer. ("Throw all consequence aside and a cheerless pyre we will set alight," Mercer sings in "Sea Legs." Ah, poetry.) Could it be that he's rebelling against the prospect of massive success by making the band's music more difficult to digest?

Mercer is much more direct when writing about bitterness or sadness (or both), topics he explores with some regularity here. In "Turn on Me," for instance, he snarls: "You can fake it for a while / Bite your tongue and smile like every mother does her ugly child."

They're among the album's most memorable lyrics, and they suggest that Mercer is channeling his inner Morrissey. It's not the only time, either: Mercer's vocal phrasing and increasingly dark lyrics frequently recall the former Smiths frontman's work. That's especially true on "Girl Sailor," which sounds like a bonus track from a "Totally Awesome '80s" modern-rock compilation.

If this Shins thing doesn't work out, maybe Mercer can find work with a Smiths tribute band. Not that he'll sleep any better knowing that.

Mark Jenkins reviewed a March 2007 performance by the Shins for The Washington Post:

Constitution Hall is a big space for the Shins. The group recently graduated from playing clubs, and the chance it could command a 3,700-seat venue seemed unlikely, given the wispy, often downbeat sound of its new album, "Wincing the Night Away."

But the Portland, Ore.-based quartet revealed its strategy within 90 seconds of taking the stage to the recorded keyboard intro of "Sleeping Lessons," rocking much harder than on the recorded version. The band proved it wasn't too small for the room.

Singer-guitarist James Mercer's tenor did strain toward falsetto, the trebly sound melting into a messy high-end buzz.

But the group gradually righted itself, thanks largely to switching to earlier, more direct material.

The middle of the 80-minute set relied heavily on the Shins' second (and best) album, "Chutes Too Narrow," and included the gentle yet propulsive "New Slang," their first hit.

"Wincing the Night Away" has a wider stylistic reach, but in concert the band was most comfortable with such '60s influences as the Beach Boys, the Hollies and the Kinks.

The chronological outer limits were defined by the new "Turn on Me," with its stately Ronettes-style guitar hook, and a cover of the Modern Lovers' early-'70s "Someone I Care About."

In a show that had lots of instrument switching and overly tricky musical embroidery, the latter tune's emotional openness was refreshing and inspired Mercer's most exuberant performance.