| | Shins Wincing The Night Away CD Shins Discography of CDs
 (9 Customer Reviews)
With their music referred to as "life-changing" in the popular 2004 film GARDEN STATE, the Shins, already a revered indie-rock band, recorded their third Sub Pop studio album under the weight of high expectations. Finally, in early '07, the group emerged with the strikingly ambitious and accomplished WINCING THE NIGHT AWAY.
On the opening "Sleeping Lessons," woozy keyboard lines and the wavering vocals of frontman James Mercer immediately announce WINCING as a departure, but slowly the drifting atmospherics give way to a guitar-driven rave-up. Much of the record echoes this more expansive sound, with the shimmering "Phantom Limb" hitting a cavernous crescendo, and the dreamy, synth-laden "Red Rabbits" bordering on ambient territory. Of course, the Shins haven't forsaken their knack for pop-perfect tunes, as best evinced by the exuberant "Australia," proving that they can temper newfound experimentalism with the quirky, easy-going charm that garnered them attention in the first place.
The Shins: James Mercer (vocals, various instruments, programming); Dave Hernandez (guitar); Marty Crandall (organ, synthesizer, bass guitar, percussion); Jesse Sandoval (drums).
Recording information: Supernatural Sound, Portland, Oregon.
Rolling Stone (p.71) - 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "The melodies are very nearly on par with the curlicues and knockout drops of the band's breakthrough, and Mercer is still singing so lithe and refined you'd think Ray Charles had never existed."
Spin (p.p.87) - 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "[W]istful....WINCING is a purposefully low-impact affair. On the gorgeous finale, 'A Comet Appears,' Mercer picks at a nimble guitar line like it's 3 a.m...."
Q (p.100) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[S]uper-smart pop music the way they used to make it 20 years ago....The Shins deliver anthems to little people in troubled times. Life-changing, for sure."
Uncut (p.72) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[E]verything is awash in shimmering production, harmonic flourishes and unexpected textures."
Alternative Press (p.109) - "[T]he bright points are plenty bright..."
Q (Magazine) (p.87) - Ranked #08 in Q's "The 50 Best Albums Of 2007."
Mojo (Publisher) (p.100) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "There are twists, but no clutter, just a gentle lyricism leaving every song lie from the inside. WINCING THE NIGHT AWAY is, on its own quiet terms, a little landmark." Wincing The Night Away Music Shins Wincing The Night Away Songs Wincing The Night Away Music Wincing The Night Away Music Review Average Rating: (4.6 out of 5 stars)   List All Reviews Delightful
I was at a Barnes & Noble and I listened to a clip of the song sleeping lessons and I was enchanted by how the music made me feel. I had never listened to the shins music before. I bought the CD that day and just fell in the love with every song. At first some of the music confused me but the more I listened to it the more I wanted to hear more. Its a great taste of indie alternative music
Submitted by bree_an_ee_uh (Wisconsin)
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 Good but not Great
I gave this four stars because I love the Shins earlier CDs but this one was a little disappointing. The first five tracks are spectacular because they're energetic and lively. Then it goes downhill from there; the remaining tracks are slow, boring, and lack the oomph of their previous work.
Submitted by Laine (washington dc)
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Fantastic!
Wow, great sounds here. Sealegs is one of just many faves. Sure to be on the alternative radio!
Submitted by carey c (KC, MO, USA)
Was This Review Helpful? Yes No  unexpected...
while at times this cd feels like classic shins, the majority of the album strays away into new territory for the band. the flow of the album is steady and sweet and the overall feel takes time to get into to understands where the band is coming from and where they want to go. simply brilliant.
Submitted by markgndlf (Riverside, CA, USA)
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My Personal Favorite
Of all their albums this is my favorite. Much more varied than their previous two. 2007 is looking like a good year...
Submitted by Go Flames Go! (Calgary, AB, Canada)
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Buy Wincing The Night Away CD Purchase Wincing The Night Away CD To buy, Click on price to add to cart | Shins Oh, Inverted World CD (2001)
Wincing The Night Away
 $12.05  
This is an Enhanced audio CD, which contains regular audio tracks and multimedia computer files.
Additional personnel includes: Melanie Crandall (cello); Neils Galloway (French horn); David Hernandez (bass).
The Shins appeared out of the middle of New Mexico as if by magic, though they had been around for a while under several other names on several different labels. In a landscape of boy bands, pre-teen chanteuses, and nu metal, the literate, '60s-influenced jangle of the Shins' debut seems a ...
| | VH1 Presents The Corrs Live In Dublin CD (2002)
Wincing The Night Away
$6.79 
This audio document of The Corrs' Dublin homecoming concert has pretty much everything fans of Irish pop could wish for, including an appearance from Bono in his earthly incarnation, fresh from an audience with President George W. Bush. It's to the band's credit that the charismatic singer fails to steal the show, despite creditable efforts via an anthemized version of Ryan Adams' beautifully downtempo "When the Stars Go Blue," and a great, leering rendition of Lee Hazlewood and Nancy Sinatra's "Summer Wine."
Somewhat more mysteriously, Rolling Stone Ron Wood also turns up on what ...
| | Shins Chutes Too Narrow CD (2003)
Wincing The Night Away
$12.49
Recorded in James Mercer's Basement, Portland, Oregon and Avasti Studio, Seattle, Washington.
When the Shins bowled over music fans and critics alike in 2001 seemingly out of nowhere (but actually out of Albuquerque and years of playing together) with OH, INVERTED WORLD, their stunningly beautiful debut, the comparisons came pouring in. Scribes likened their insistent, melodic sound and James Mercer's hyper-literate, oblique but mellifluous lyrics to many mostly anachronistic, all deeply revered sources, including everything from the Beach Boys to Love.
The follow-up, CHUTES TOO NARROW, meets and often manages to exceed the tremendous, burgeoning buzz surrounding it. Mercer and co. retain all the elements that made their debut delectable, as the melodies flow hither and thither, a subtle rapture confident in its ability to entrance. Delicately crafted yet explosively poetic lines again abound (such as "secretly I want to bury in the yard the grey remains of a friendship scarred"), and by the time the sing-a-long ...
| | Arcade Fire Funeral CD (2004)
Wincing The Night Away
$11.89
Favorably compared to the Flaming Lips, Mercury Rev, and Broken Social Scene, the Arcade Fire's sound seems to come from a lifetime of listening to the Cure, Talking Heads, Elvis Costello, and ...
| | TV On The Radio Return To Cookie Mountain CD (2006)
Wincing The Night Away
$9.99
| | National Boxer CD (2007)
Wincing The Night Away
$9.89
| | Yancy Derringer Openers CD (1974)
Wincing The Night Away
$11.59
| | Lale Andersen Das Beste Von Lale & CD (2007) (Import)
Wincing The Night Away
$17.09
| | Coalition Naked Movies CD (2004)
Wincing The Night Away
$6.95
| | Christmas Memories CDs (2007)
Wincing The Night Away
$9.85
| | Sinfinis Edge Of A Knife CD (2007)
Wincing The Night Away
$6.39
| | Karius Vega Fluorescent Sound Experiment CD (2007)
Wincing The Night Away
$16.45
| | Nostalgia Best Foreign Hits CD (2007) (Import) Import
$17.09 |
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