Wincing The Night Away

This is my second favorite The Shins album, but contains my favorite track of theirs, Phantom Limb. I have such a nostalgic association with this band as they rose to fame during my formative early college years in the early 2000s. Like most college Sophomores, I watched Garden State about 20 times. James' voice instantly takes me back to 2004, even if the album is later than that. This album was released right around my college graduation time. I felt like I lived 2 lives in between Oh, Inverted World and Wincing... Good memories....take me back there.... :'(

I'm not very far into the user submitted albums list, but this will be the first album I've gotten that I've already listened to. I haven't listened to The Shins in a hot minute, and I can't think of a good reason why I haven't, because I think they're great. I saw them live back in 2012 when they were touring for Port of Morrow, and I had a great time. I'm pumped to fire this album up today! This isn't a five-star album for me, but it's pretty darn close. The Shins (okay, James Mercer) packed this album with fun and beautiful arrangements, and some solidly poetic lyrics as well. This album is really fun to listen to, with some of the best indie rock from the aughts. The lead and bass guitars are great, as are the drums, keyboards, and synths. James Mercer may not be at the top of anyone's mind when it comes to great vocalists, but I really enjoy his singing, especially on the album's best track, "Phantom Limb." While we're on the subject, "Phantom Limb" absolutely rules. The opening fuzzed out bass tones, the driving rhythms of the bass and drums, the shimmering guitar notes, the infectious refrain of "ohh, oh-ohhh, oh-ohhh"... man, this song has it all. What a beautiful piece of music. "Sleeping Lessons" is wonderful too. I love how the dreamy intro shifts into an absolute pop-rock blast, with some incredibly dance-worthy drums and guitars. "Sea Legs," "Turn On Me," and "Split Needles" are great too, but "Sleeping Lessons" and "Phantom Limb" are in their own galaxy. The songs that don't stand out on this album are a touch boring and don't really add anything to the album's overall sound, but thankfully, those songs are few. Overall though, Wincing is a really solid indie rock record, and some of the best work James Mercer has ever put out.

A band name I've heard a lot but hadn't listened to much of. I liked this - started a bit dubious but it quickly brought me around. A unique and eclectic sound, very indie but definitely its own sound and style amid a crowded field of Gen X indie rockers. I'll be checking out more.

I’d come across The Shins before, but never really listened properly. Spending time with this album today has been a real treat. This 00s indie album, 20 years on, still feels fresh and instantly clicked with me. It’s definitely going straight into my regular rotation.

Yeah, I think there's a case to be made here that this act has always been *seriously* overrated. This album is very competently performed and produced, sure. But it is also "streamlined" to a fault -- noughts so-called "indie" dross for the most part, fronted by a singer who often fails to provide either subtlety or interesting dynamics in his performance (those limp, annoying "ouh-ouh" vocal parts on "Phantom Limb"!). "Flat" is the word that automatically comes to mind here, and it also concerns the pedestrian songwriting in most parts of this record -- which is maddening to think of when reviewers state that *Wincing The Night Away* is among the band's supposedly "most adventurous albums". Because this particular adventure doesn't seem so thrilling for me. A couple of songs, such as "Red Rabbit" or "Black Wave", offer a form of ambiguity that's all too rare elsewhere. Tracks like opener "Sleeping Lessons" and "Spit Needles" are also relatively more intense than the rest... But there again, this intensity is not to be found in the piles of cheery tracks overdosing on sugar pestering the tracklist (and you can count the nearly unbearable "Australia" among those obnoxious and hamfisted cuts!). Too many songs come and go without making a distinctive point for me (including "Sleeping Lessons", actually, which fades away just as when the song could start to *really* get interesting). Nothing feels "vital" in this record fraught with too many missed opportunities. To sum things up, there are so many "modern" post-folk / indie rock acts of this type that have recently managed to leave a real imprint, from Grandaddy to The Flaming Lips, or from Other Lives and Fleet Foxes to Big Thief. And The Shins are not part of that league quickly transcending passing fads one or two decades later. Sensed that when I watch the band play at a festival around the time of this album's release. And I'm sorry to say I haven't changed my mind since. For an album evoking the subject of insomnia at some point, it is quite extraordinary that the music inside it makes me want to eyeroll my way into a deep slumber. So good night everyone. See you tomorrow. --- 2/5 for the purposes of this list dedicated to essential albums 7/10 for more general purposes (4.5/5 for the musicianship and production values + 2.5/5 for the artistry). ---- Number of albums from the original list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 465 Albums from the original list I *might* include in mine later on: 288 Albums from the original list I won't include in mine: 336 ---- Number of albums from the users list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 77 Albums from the users list I *might* select for mine later on: 98 Albums from the users list I won't select for mine: 193 (including this one) ---- Émile, tu trouveras ma dernière réponse sous le *Inside* de Bo Burnham

3 Hey, Australia

Rating: 6/10 Best songs: Australia

Summer-like vibes from this indie band. Some song are just a bit bland.

Indie slop