I love The Shins.
The four-piece from Albuquerque, N.M., pens high-flying indie-pop that sounds almost effortlessly melodic. They create a terrific sense of sonic space, with a layered sound that runs the gamut from the usual (guitar, bass, drums) to the unusual (ukulele). They write concise albums that are never pretentious. They're on Sub Pop, a label that's cool as hell.
I hate The Shins.
Not once on their third CD, Wincing the Night Away, do they part with their well-established formula. They never dare to be abrasive or funny. They come across like the worst sort of watered-down contemporary indie rock, totally disconnected from their chaotic and gritty predecessors. Further, they brought together Natalie Portman and Zach Braff in the sappy, indie-by-numbers film Garden State.
I feel moderately conflicted about The Shins.
As a blast of pure pop, this 11-track, 41-minute record cannot be denied. Lead singer James Mercer effortlessly channels the swoon of Smiths-era Morrissey. On "Sealegs," the band melds a stuttering hip-hop drumbeat with hard acoustic strums and sharp strings with bizarre electro squiggles. "Red Rabbits" features more strings and otherworldly guitar effects.
Despite such attention to sonic detail, though, I can't shake the fact that five minutes after taking the disc out of the player, I'd forgotten it. The lyrics don't demand your attention. Most songs, despite their different colors, tend to blur together into one long, mellow, hazy stretch. Like so many new CDs, this release falls somewhere in between terrific and awful, inspiring the worst of all reactions: indifference. 2.5 stars
This article appears in Jan 17-23, 2007.