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For whatever (stupid) reason, the Shins’ latest album initially wasn’t even in the running for my favorite records of the year; but then I listened to it again, and was like, “WTF? It totally should be!”. This is one of those albums that really sneaks up on you, because when you first listen to it, you DO realize how good it is, but you don’t really grasp how good it is until much, much later. That’s exactly what happened to me… it just took time; and thankfully, that time has come.

I have to say that I was very surprised that I liked this album as much as I did, and that it hooked me in the way that it did; both initially, and then again recently. I will openly admit that I was completely blind to that whole cult of the Shins before I heard some great songs in Garden State. After liking what I heard, I thought I would check out their stuff, but it wasn’t until I was standing in a record store, and saw their new release Wincing the Night Away,that I actually followed through with my curiosity. See, I am one of those people that goes through moods; sometimes I am just not in a place to be accepting of certain types of music, and the Shins are so different from what I was listening to at the time, that I wasn’t in a place to truly understand and embrace them. Not only are the vocals very inviting and comforting, but the layers of guitars, and beats really draw you into the rich landscape of the lyrical craft that the Shins musically portray. There aren’t many artists that I would even compare to them, because for me, they really have their own thing going; and that is not something you can say about very many artists these days. Sure they remind me of groups like Death Cab For Cutie and the Decemberists, but they do what even those groups do so well themselves; they carve out their own little corner in the music landscape, and make something truly interesting and good, and dare I say it, sort of unique to them.

On Wincing, some of the songs may be pretty dark themes, but they are all beautiful. It is hard not to sing along with the “la la la”s of the upbeat songs, because they really do hook you in. I am also glad that this is my first Shins album, because not only is it a great album, for me, it doesn’t come with the “cult of the Shins” pressure that the previous releases hold.

This album also has a lot of something that I love; there are a wealth of specific lines from songs that really grab you, and hold you to the floor, cementing themselves in your mind for days after you heard them. I love it when that happens, and the Shins really master that; from “we’ve pissed on far too many sprites, and they’re all standing up for their rights” to “because you had to know I was fond of you, fond of y-o-u”, they really have some great lines that really grab you and won’t let go. I am happy to say that this is one of those records that are like a fine wine; they get better with age, and get better with each listen. Now, it’s time to put the earphones on and listen to Wincing the Night Away!

My favorite songs from Wincing the Night Away:
Australia, Sleeping Lessons, Turn On Me, Red Rabbits, and A Comet Appears. (I thought I would follow my promise to bring some music to these, so click on the song with a link for the youtube video!!)

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