An album review: The Shins - Wincing The Night Away

It is no secret that I am madly in love with Zach Braff (He's JD for god's sake!). In fact, anyone who walks into my kitchen can immediately see proof of my room's devotion in the form of his picture on the wall. Because of this adoration, it is also true by the transitive property that I love The Shins.

Alright, this isn't entirely true seeing as I discovered the magic of the band about a year or so before Mr. Braff was anything more than "that funny medical intern on TV." However, their role in Garden State did cement my fan-hood for good.

Judging by their sold-out CMJ show, their (almost) daily headlines in all the 'cool' music trades (catch them on the cover of the latest issue of Filter with my favorite man from The Office, John Krasinski), and their constant new features on iTunes (I wonder what this week's exclusive single will be?), most people already know all they need to on the band, so I'll spare the details. Instead all I'll say is that The Shins have a new album. It's called "Wincing The Night Away". And I'm here to review it.

I've given myself a good month or so with this album so I think I've got a pretty good feel for it.

My initial response to the album was that it was good, dare I say great. Stand out tracks include: "Australia", "Girl Sailor", and "Phantom Limb". The Shins are pros at light and airy music that hides a deeper weight, and they do not fail on their latest release. This new batch of tunes are sprinkled with simple yet elegant melodies, floating piano accents, and those unique vocals we all know so well. However, as much as I wanted this album to simply be "another great album", I started to notice a lack of continuity between tracks. Alone, each song appeals to me, while still sounding like The Shins we love; strung together, the albums lacks the feel of a true 'album'. Wincing the Night Away feels more like a compilation of extra tracks, than a standard LP. I think this aspect of my opinion is best summed up at this blog.

Don't get me wrong however, I do enjoy the album thoroughly, and would give it something like 7.5/10 if I had a standardized rating system. Seeing as I don't, I'll give it a gold star.

The Shins - Phantom Limb (Single)

The Shins Official Site

Sucks.

Thanks to my introduction into the effects of copyrights on the music industry (thank you higher education.) I can now see the implications of something as monumental as this.

(I'm trying to decide if this knowledge is either a good thing, or something terrible)

On one end of the copyright issue, if the copyrights on the songs fail to extend past the current 50 years, (thus ending in 2013) the Beatles and Rolling Stones libraries would be commonplace, and thus available to anyone. This would further the music's exposure in the world (not to mention it's likely impact on advertising revenues). However, if the bands' remaining members and their estates succeed in extending the copyright duration, it would most likely affect the whole of the UK copyright market. This would be especially true if they were aiming to extend it to 95 years. This would bring the UK inline with the US laws and (like here with the Sonny-Bono copyright act) inevitably change the entire music industry with its effects on royalty payments.

Tough stuff. I'm curious to see how this all plays out. I'm all for the bands to continue getting paid for the usage of their songs (considering that it is their work, and they are entitled to a share) However, when it comes to copyrights, there are lines that are drawn that are hard to cross or redraw without a ripple effect on every art form they protect.

NME.COM - News - Bands lose battle to extend copyright on their songs