Wincing the Night Away

The Shins

The Shins, without your knowledge, has hypnotized you, put you to sleep, and has taken you away to its secret, dream world. You do not have a say in this matter. You have been hooked and now must follow them.

Wincing the Night Away is the alternative band, The Shins’ third album. It begins with one haunting, echoing voice and eerie drumbeats. Slowly more percussion and obscure noises are added to the first track. The rest of the band joins in halfway through with guitar, bass and other instruments. The journey has begun.

The tempo of the song, like the listener’s heartbeat, transforms with each passing measure. Changing from minor chords in the beginning to major chords toward the end heightens the sense of mystery and awe. Lullaby slow in the beginning segues into a tense, anxiety filled adventure taken only by dreamers. Finally, you arrive at the end of the song with the glorious pounding of a rock concert. Tons of rowdy, screaming fans greet you and beckon to you join them.

This first song is called Sleeping Lessons for a reason. The “lullaby” in the beginning is no accident. The Shins teach you to sleep, to dream and make you travel through the endless abyss until you arrive in dreamland. Once you are there, the only way to introduce you to this new land is with the song Australia.

It starts with, “La la la la,” and not a care in the world. In standard time, lively percussion keeps the beat. Nonsense lyrics and messages of pain and depression mix with the campy happiness of the music. Just like a dreamer, you must decode what you see and hear in order to survive.

Underneath all the confusing images and random firings in your brain, dreams can be insightful. In this song, The Shins sing about dodo birds and androids but also about life when you aren’t dreaming. “Your nightmares only need a year or two to unfold,” truly makes the listener think.

The Shins ask you some hard questions. Are your dreams better than reality? Is your reality actually a nightmare? After asking their listeners to come with them and jump out the window, the song ends with a mocking, “La la la la.” You are left feeling numb and your head hurts like you have come out of REM sleep too quickly.

The rest of their songs are as silly and haphazard as actual dreams. For example, the songs Sea Legs, Girl Sailor, Red Rabbits and their first single Phantom Limb all convey images of dreams we have all had. Phantom Limb begins with a perky tambourine and the same soothing voice as the first song. It is like you are floating through this dream world without want or need to go back to reality. Phantom Limb leads into Sea Legs and your body becomes jello. The drawn out phrases give the feeling of seasickness and floating on the water.

The Shins’ lyrics to these songs are unrecognizable so you must listen the way the words sound with the music, not the actual meaning of the words. The physical album comes with the lyrics printed in the pullout guide. These lyrics are sometimes nonsensical but you get an insight you never knew you were searching for.

At the end of the album, the song A Comet Appears wakes you up with morning bird calls and slide guitar. The peaceful notes whisper, “Good morning.” Regretfully, the dream is over and what might have been a restful sleep was actually riddled with strange characters and breathtaking adventures. This musical, dream-like journey is so fascinating that all you want to do is sleep forever. Thankfully, all you have to do is click the repeat button on your iTunes to enjoy it all over again. Sweet Dreams.