Oh, leaking interweb. Thanks for dripping the new Shins record! Before listening, we feared that the band either would turn in a complete retread of their awesome to-date output, or offer up a total snoozer. (Anyone who’s been to a Shins show knows what we’re talking about.) Instead, the album is another step in the crystallization of The Shins’ studio sound (via ever-enhanced production) with some minor departures and some great tunes, all of it enough to earn from us a resounding “very good!”
The first Wincing tracks are among its finest; “Sleeping Lessons” moves forward on the strength of Mercer’s melody and some spacey textures, but the crashing dance-beat guits at 2:25 (ala the outro to Arcade Fire’s “Une Annee Sans Lumiere”) have a full-and-forceful urgency that’s very new for The Shins. Follow that up with “Australia” — which has the band in full command of pop craft, toying with dynamics via shifting drum patterns and spiced with nostalgic ’50s melodies — and you’ll think that those Sub Pop bastards have done it again.
And they sorta have.
The writing is there, though nothing’s mind blowing. As for growth, the record is very safe in ways, and yet possessed of risks that are somewhat miscalculated. “Sea Legs” is a welcome stylistic departure, with its head-rocking groove, its strings, and its surprisingly Smiths-mining melodies. But the track resolves to join The Decemberists in Pink Floyd salutation, and that look isn’t as flattering on The Shins — although maybe it’ll make ‘em more attractive onstage.
Of course, lots of this record is in Mercer’s wordplay, and we’ll need a few more spins to really dig in there. The good news is, the music itself merits repeat spins, entirely independent of our lyrical curiosity. As for song predecessors? That’s a fun game! Well, “Red Rabbits” is this album’s “Young Pilgrims,” and the record closer “A Comet Appears” is its bid for a new “New Slang.” Not destiny altering, but it’ll probably make you want a latte. And the album’s best song? Stereogum’s crushing on “Split Needles.”
For the web-savvy downloaders out there, we welcome you to rate the album on a scale of 1 to Change Your Life. But no, we’re not gonna leak it. If you want it badly enough, it will present itself to you.
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I’ve got a promo of the album, and I think it’s as good, if not better, than the first two. Not a single bad song. There’s great pop (Australia, Phantom Limb, Turn On Me) and moments of utter beauty (Red Rabbits, A Comet Appears) and ‘Sea Legs’ is ASTONISHING. Another classic.
I must say that this is one amazing album. I can’t stop listening to it
Does anyone have the lyrics to Australia? I did my best to interpret them myself… but there are sections were I honestly have no idea what they’re saying which is shown with the (?)s. Here’s what I have now:
La la la la
La la la la
La la la la
Born to multiply (born to multify)
born to gaze into night skies
all you want’s one more saturday
you’re looking until then
thinking about your night’s high
so keep the wick in the air (?)
and your feet in the fellows til today (?)
they come in to our carfields (?)
we all collide by ourselves
in the shape of the dance floors
well i would think that such filth would gouge my eyes (?)
you’ll be damned to be one of us girl
facing the donum’s (?) connundrum
i felt like i could just fly
but nothing happened everytime i tried
oo oo
dour time undervault (?)
selfish fool and helped his safer song (?)
never dreamt of such steryl hands
you keep them folded in your lap
and raise them up to beg for scraps
you know he’s holding you down with the tips of his fingers
just the same
you were pulled from the ocean
just a little too late
or changed by the potion
we found a handsome young maid for you to love
you’ll be damned upon it through the window (?)things you love
change your life under the ordinary joys (?)
you and i will go home
your likeness only need the evil to unfold (?)
been alone since you were 21
you’ve have it up since january
you try to make it this is so much fun (?)
but we know it to be quite contrary
la la la la la la la
damned to be one of us girl
facing the andrum’ connundrum (?)
i felt like i should just cry
but nothing happens everytime i take one on the chin
you hear and then your crows you don’t know how long i’ve been (?)
watching the lantern dim
saw the oxygen (?)
so give me your hand and let’s jump out the window
I have some corrections to your lyrics:
Time to put the earphones on.
La la la la
La la la la
La la la la
Born to multiply (born to multify)
born to gaze into night skies
all you want’s one more saturday
you’re looking until then
thinking about your nice time
so keep your wick in the air
and your feet in the fellows til today
we come in doing cartwheels
we all collide by ourselves
and the shape of the dance floors
will have me think that such filth would gouge my eyes
you pretend to be one of us girl
facing the donum’s connundrum (?)
i felt like i could just fly
but nothing happened everytime i tried
oo oo
dour time undervault (?)
selfish fool and helped his safer song (?)
never dreamt of such steryl hands
you keep them folded in your lap
and raise them up to beg for scraps
you know he’s holding you down with the tips of his fingers
just the same
you were pulled from the ocean
just a little too late
or changed by the potion
we found a handsome young maid for you to love
you pretend to party through the window things you love (?)
you’d change your life under the ordinary joys (?)
you and i will go home
your nightmares only need the evil to unfold
been alone since you were 21
you haven’t lapsed since january
you try to make like this is so much fun
but we know it to be quite contrary
la la la la la la la
dare to be one of us girl
facing the andrum’s connundrum (?)
i felt like i should just cry
but nothing happens everytime i take one on the chin
you hear it in your codes you don’t know how long i’ve been (?)
watching the lantern dim
starved of oxygen
so give me your hand and let’s jump out the window
Wow…
Simply amazing – I’m writing after repeat listens, with OIW, it took a few listens before it set in.
Where to start… in my mind, black wave followed by split needles is the best song progression on any of their albums – dark but amazing – I agree SG, absolutely crusching on split needles. A Comet Appears is their best closer. Phantom Limb is as good as anything else they have done to date – pure shins.
Not a weak song on this album – with the exception of the questionable Pam Berry.
Bottom line – well worth the wait, they killed it again on this album.
Wrong lyrics Jerry Blackened…Yikes!!
If you’re really the one who posted the Wincing The Night Away lyrics at songmeanings.net, maybe you shouldn’t try to do that anymore. Almost every new song there has multiple incorrect lyrics. Very sloppy. In fact, there are 11 wrong words or phrases in the song “Turn On Me” alone! That is not good.
Now Jerry, I wouldn’t be in here whining if it wasn’t for the fact that these are James Mercer lyrics which I believe deserve much better treatment.
Here are some examples of your incorrect lyrics next to the accurate lyrics from the new single “Phantom Limb”:
==============
“Frozen into coats” should be, “Frozen winter coats”
“Fire past one, fire the one” should be, “File past one, five and one”
“The are the fabled lambs, A Sunday ham” should be, “They are the fabled lambs of Sunday ham”
“And weakened falling eyes, in cheap shots from the tribe” should be, “A week of rolling eyes, and cheap shots from the tribe”
“gold head tunes” should be, “Goat Head tunes” (referring to an old Rolling Stones album)
“Beat it circa slime” should be, “Be it silk or slime”
“So, when they tap our mundane heads” should be, “So, when they tap our Monday heads” (the second time he sings, “Sunday heads”)
“To fall along in our crime” should be, “Too far along in our climb” (the second time, he sings, “Too far along in our crime”)
==============
Yup, that’s pretty sloppy, (and there were only 8 mistakes in that song).
Okay Jerry, I won’t pick apart the entire album because my goal is not to make you look like an idiot. However I will list just a few examples from your posted lyrics where you really changed Mercer’s intent entirely.
==============
From Sleeping Lessons:
“You’re low anymore” should be, “You low animal”
“So we waste every ounce” should be, “So enlist every ounce”
==============
From Australia:
“Been in love since you were twenty-one” should be, “Been alone since you were twenty-one” (Big difference, eh?)
“Facing the Andrum’s conundrum” should be, “Facing the android’s conundrum” (Who is Andrum anyway?)
==============
From Turn On Me:
“Amassed resentment counting ounce and pound” should be,
“Amassed resentment pelting ounce and pound”
“You don’t hide me anymore” should be, “Well hardly anymore”
“And never once aired of our dead” should be, “And never once erred of a dare”
“So I took your lips at the time” should be, “So I took your licks at the time”
==============
From Spilt Needles:
“I’ve done myself an impossible crime” should be, “I’ve earned myself an impossible crime”
“Oh, won’t you do me the favor, man, of a giving mind, a polymorphing opinion” should be, “Oh won’t you do me the favor man, forgiving my, my poly-morphing opinion here”
“out of the hole, inside the hole you’re in” should be, “another hole inside the hole you’re in”
“It’s like I’m pressed on the handle bars” should be, “It’s like I’m perched on the handle bars”
==============
Well, unfortunately, I have to cut this short, but you get the idea. Please be more careful before you try post a James Mercer lyric at a website. And maybe because you were able to get the incorrect lyrics posted at songmeanings.net, maybe you can get some accurate lyrics posted instead.
Good luck to you.
==============
Wrong lyrics Jerry Blackened…Yikes!!
If you’re really the one who posted the Wincing The Night Away lyrics at songmeanings.net, maybe you shouldn’t try to do that anymore. Almost every new song there has multiple incorrect lyrics. Very sloppy. In fact, there are 11 wrong words or phrases in the song “Turn On Me” alone! That is not good.
Now Jerry, I wouldn’t be in here whining if it wasn’t for the fact that these are James Mercer lyrics which I believe deserve much better treatment.
Here are some examples of your incorrect lyrics next to the accurate lyrics from the new single “Phantom Limb”:
==============
“Frozen into coats” should be, “Frozen winter coats”
“Fire past one, fire the one” should be, “File past one, five and one”
“The are the fabled lambs, A Sunday ham” should be, “They are the fabled lambs of Sunday ham”
“And weakened falling eyes, in cheap shots from the tribe” should be, “A week of rolling eyes, and cheap shots from the tribe”
“gold head tunes” should be, “Goat Head tunes” (referring to an old Rolling Stones album)
“Beat it circa slime” should be, “Be it silk or slime”
“So, when they tap our mundane heads” should be, “So, when they tap our Monday heads” (the second time he sings, “Sunday heads”)
“To fall along in our crime” should be, “Too far along in our climb” (the second time, he sings, “Too far along in our crime”)
==============
Yup, that’s pretty sloppy, (and there were only 8 mistakes in that song).
Okay Jerry, I won’t pick apart the entire album because my goal is not to make you look like an idiot. However I will list just a few examples from your posted lyrics where you really changed Mercer’s intent entirely.
==============
From Sleeping Lessons:
“You’re low anymore” should be, “You low animal”
“So we waste every ounce” should be, “So enlist every ounce”
==============
From Australia:
“Been in love since you were twenty-one” should be, “Been alone since you were twenty-one” (Big difference, eh?)
“Facing the Andrum’s conundrum” should be, “Facing the android’s conundrum” (Who is Andrum anyway?)
==============
From Turn On Me:
“Amassed resentment counting ounce and pound” should be,
“Amassed resentment pelting ounce and pound”
“You don’t hide me anymore” should be, “Well hardly anymore”
“And never once aired of our dead” should be, “And never once erred of a dare”
“So I took your lips at the time” should be, “So I took your licks at the time”
==============
From Spilt Needles:
“I’ve done myself an impossible crime” should be, “I’ve earned myself an impossible crime”
“Oh, won’t you do me the favor, man, of a giving mind, a polymorphing opinion” should be, “Oh won’t you do me the favor man, forgiving my, my poly-morphing opinion here”
“out of the hole, inside the hole you’re in” should be, “another hole inside the hole you’re in”
“It’s like I’m pressed on the handle bars” should be, “It’s like I’m perched on the handle bars”
==============
Well, unfortunately, I have to cut this short, but you get the idea. Please be more careful before you try post a James Mercer lyric at a website. And maybe because you were able to get the incorrect lyrics posted at songmeanings.net, maybe you can get some accurate lyrics posted instead.
Good luck to you.
==============
Adeline,
This one’s for you.
Australia
Time to put the earphones on?
No!
La la la la
La la la la
Laaaaaaa
La la la la
(Born to multiply) Born to multiply
Born to gaze into night skies
All you want?s one more Saturday
Well look here until then
They?re gonna buy your nice time
So keep your wick in the air and your feet in the fetters
‘Till the day you come in doing cartwheels
We all collide by ourselves
And your shape on the dance floor
Will have me thinking such filth and gouge my eyes
You?d be damned to be one of us girl
Faced with a dodo?s conundrum
I felt like I could just fly
But nothing happend every time I tried
Wooo, ooooh!
A dual-tone under wall
Selfish fool and hoped he?d save us all
Never dreamt of such sterile hands
You keep ‘em folded in your lap
And raise them up to beg for scraps
You know he’s holding you down
With the tips of his fingers just the same
But you’ll be pulled from the ocean
But just a minute too late
Or changed by a potion
You?ll find a handsome young mate for you to love
You’ll be damned to pining through the windowpanes you know
You’ll trade your life for any ordinary Joe
Will do and I will grow old
Your nightmares only need a year or two to unfold
Been alone since you were twenty-one
You haven’t laughed since January
You try and think of this as so much fun
But we know it to be quite contrary
La la la la la la la
Dare to be one of us girl
Faced with the android’s conundrum
I felt like I should just cry
But nothing happens every time I take one on the chin
Your humor in your coat you don’t know how long I’ve been
Watching the lantern dim starved of oxygen
So give me your hand and let’s jump out the window
Oops…I guess that was for Anna.
When an old one-sided friendship goes south, sometimes there are no words, but thanks to The Shins, these will do…
Turn On Me
You can fake it for a while
Bite your tongue and smile
Like every mother does an ugly child
But the stars are leaking out
Like spittle from a cloud
Amassed resentment pelting ounce and pound
You?re entertaining any doubts
?Cause you had to know that I was fond of you
Fond of Y-O-U
Though I knew you masked your disdain
La da da da da
I can see that change was just too hard for us
Hard for us
You always had to hold the reigns
But where I’m headed you just don’t know the way
So affections fade away
And do adults just learn to play
The most ridiculous repulsive games?
All the faith in ruddy sons
And the double-barreled guns
You better hurry rabbit run run run
‘Cause meeting you was fun
And there’s a lot of hungry howlers in this one cell
All taking it over
Their brittle thorny stems
They break before they bend
And neither one of us is one of them
And the tales will never mend
?Cause you had it in for me so long ago
Boy I still don’t know
I don’t know why and I don’t care
Well hardly anymore
And you’d always seen yourself hating me
Hating me
When I’ve been so much more than fair
But then you?d have to lay those feelings bare
One thing I know still got you scared
You’re all that cold iron
And never once erred of a dare
You had to know that I was fond of you
Fond of Y-O-U
So I took your licks at the time
fa da da da da
And to change like that is just so hard to do
Hard to do
Don’t let it whip-crack your life
And I’ll bow out from the fight
?Cause old pal your sisters were right
The worst part is over
Now get back on that horse and ride
Phantom Limb
Frozen winter coats
White girls of the North
File past one five and one
They are the fabled lambs of Sunday ham
The ancient snow
And they can float above the grass
In circles if they tried
A latent power I know they hide
To keep some hope alive
That a girl like I could ever try
Could ever try
So we just skirt the hallway signs
A phantom and a fly
Follow the lines and wonder why
There’s no connection
A week of rolling eyes
And cheap shots from the tribe
And we’re often in Marcus? porch again
Another afternoon with the Goat Head tunes
And pilfered booze
We wandered through your mama’s house
And the milk from the window lights
Family portrait circa ’95
This is that foreign land
Of the sprayed on tans
And it all feels fine
Be it silk or slime
So when they tap our Monday heads
To a zombie-walk in our stead
This town seems hardly worth our time
And we’ll no longer memorize or rhyme
Too far along in our climb
Stepping over what now towers to the sky
With no connection
Oh whoa oh whoa oh
Oh whoa oh whoa oh
Oh whoa oh whoa oh
Oh whoa oh whoa oh
So when they tap our Sunday heads
To a zombie-walk in our stead
This town seems hardly worth our time
And we’ll no longer memorize or rhyme
Too far along in our crime
Stepping over what now towers to the sky
With no connection
Oh whoa oh whoa oh
Oh whoa oh whoa oh
Oh whoa oh whoa oh
Oh whoa oh whoa oh…
I freaking love this album. It’s been in my CD player ever since I snagged it.
Great album, great songs. As usual, the lyrics are the best thing about the disc. Mercer really knows how to turn a phrase.
Re: Sleeping Lessons sounding like “the vonage song” (a 50′s tune actually) .. it’s just one note off, so i think they’re legally ok on that one …
great album …
I don’t know if anyone else noticed this, but Mercer sounds like he’s trying to sing like a cross between Bono and Robert Smith at the same time. I mean, he can’t really sound like anyone other than himself because he has a very distinct voice, but his inflection or something sounds like The Cure performing their versions of U2′s more lackadaisical songs. I guess that’s how’d I’d describe the whole album: lackadaisical. It’s as if they just chilled out while recording all these songs. They used to have a vervy, nervous energy. On Oh, Inverted World, their songs sounded kinda world-weary, but peppered with some very upbeat melodies. Their songs from Chutes Too Narrow were like the soundtrack to a summer fling that felt wonderful ’til September rolled around and the lovers realized they had to part ways, maybe forever. It’s cliche and dumb, but I dunno… I doubt I was the only one who listened to their songs while falling asleep while sighing thinking of the girl I loved. This album has incredible melodies, and is very well written & executed, but it doesn’t really move me. I could do homework to this music, and it’ll sound lovely in my earphones, but it doesn’t transport me to a mystical time and place that only exists in someone’s imagination. It’s just ok. Maybe more than ok, but not outstanding.
Uh… So yeah! This was really long and I probably took up more space than all the previous comments combined, but I just have to get my opinion out there and see if anyone else agrees.
At any rate, The Shins are one of the best bands out there and I wish long life to ‘em, whatever direction they take.
Godspeed to ye!
-Mike F.
I am a die-hard shins fan and when i first listened to wincing, i have to say i was a little disappointed. But, the more i have listened to it, i must say it has really grown on me. This shouldnt really come as a suprise because when i first heard new slang, i was not a fan. But, the more i heard it, i started to like it. Once i heard more of their stuff, i was hooked. I have a feeling the same thing is gonna happen with wincing.
I can’t read everything commented so apologies. But I also wanted to stop by and say that I love the first two albums and think this is head and shoulders the best album I’ve heard in years by anyone. I would fight people in the street in London to see them when they come. (Wearing massive sponge fists scented with lavender obviously…)
Been listening to Phantom Limb on myspace until my brain bled for weeks now so having the whole album available there has caused me true physical damage. Turn On Me took my breath away so solidly that I nearly passed out. Red Rabbits took me to bed and stole my virginity all over again (goddamn you Saint Simon)
xxx
I wasnt the Shins biggest fan after their first two albums, for whatever reason I didn’t really notice them besides enjoying the big ones ( kissing the lipless, caring is creepy, new slang). But I started listening to them when I was reading all the hype over this album on the internet. I got the album when it came out, and all I can say is this album is a totally different sound, and that is a good thing. They now have the oppurtunity to get new fans to hear their music, when they might not have otherwise, which means they and I will also be checking out their older albums, which is also a good thing right?
Australia is one of the catchiest songs I have ever heard. A pure pop song backing some of the most hopeless lyrics I’ve heard in a while. Sea Legs takes me back on spring break chill mode. A comet appears is beautiful. The whole album is so layered and complex.
Maybe its because I just bought this album, but I’m really digging it. All bands go in new directions, whats the use of bitching about it when you could be enjoying a totally different experience from a favorite and already proven expert in this thing we call music. Maybe we should trust our bands more, at least the good ones. And yes I will be buying the previous two Shins albums.
It’s the best album so far. They stayed true to the mellow atmosphere and still managed to throw a lot of new musical ideas in. It’s an amazing balance of style, grace, and lyrical greatness.
I’m glad I’m not the only one who can’t understand a word they’re saying … but the melodies are outstanding.