Shins Stoked For Wincing The Night Away
Billboard has some Shins news. (Though, anything passes as Shins news these days, as their much-much-anticipated third album won't be out 'til January).
The album's called Wincing the Night Away, and will be completely finished in the next few weeks. Expect ten songs and "one short introduction."
James Mercer talked it up to to Billboard backstage at last night's McCarren Pool.
Mercer is particularly enthused about the song "Phantom Limb," which he says was inspired from a production standpoint by early Jesus & Mary Chain albums. "The song is a hypothetical, fictional account of a young, lesbian couple in high school dealing with the shitty small town they live in."Hey Brooklynites -- did they play any of these songs last night? Were they awesome enough to make Zach Braff cry?Elsewhere, "Red Rabbits" is what Mercer describes as "a strange, psychedelic piano number with this really tweaked out sound," while "Sea Legs" employs a hip-hop beat reminiscent of the Beta Band. "Spelling Lessons," "Spilled Needles" and "A Comet Appears" will also make the final cut.
"I was just talking to some of the people at Sub Pop who were listening to the rough mixes, and they agree with me that we've stretched," Mercer says. "We're trying some different styles."
Posted at 11:24 AM
There were no brooklynites there. It was like Murray Hill exploded.
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I believe they played "Red Rabbit" which sounded pretty cool, and at least one other of the new songs mentioned above. And no, they were not awesome enough to make Zack Braff, or anyone else besides perhaps a manic 12 year old girl cry.
They messed up on "New Slang" twice in a row and decided to ditch the song and come back to it later in the encore. They did not play several key songs, including both album closers and "Pink Bullets." They were also plagued by frequent sound problems. It seems that the sound man cannot get anything right at any Shins show. Go figure. But they were charming and they did nail some songs. My favorite was "So Says I" which absolutely rocked with the guitarist posing as if he were in an 80's hair metal band.
In conclusion, I won't be seeing the Shins live anytime soon. Some bands are just better in the studio.
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Truly terrible pun for the album title.
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I agree, Evan. They announced "Phantom Limb", which was enjoyable, nice groove. There was an overwhelming lethargy to the whole show, however, not relieved by lame "pool party" jokes. Interesting to hear them say "we didn't expect so many people to show up." A stress moment for an over-hyped band?
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In fairness, they were pretty amazing at Lollapalooza a few weeks ago.
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you knew that former america's next top model contestant ánd girlfriend of one of the shins, elyse sewell, has a blog, not? 'cause recently she told all kinds of stuff about the new record: http://elysesewell.livejournal.com/52322.html
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Yeah, it was kinda boring and they played one new song that sounded pretty good, but they just sounded unprepared.
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i am looking foward however to this hip-hop beat...i want some shins vs.snoop mash-ups...the shins go hyphy, etc
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Subject: Too Bad...
It was nice to hear songs from the Garden State movie, but in the end it only proved how well clean-up jobs are done in the studio. Messing up on "New Slang" was totally unprofessional (even, as rumor had it, it was a joke), reminding me how unseasoned the band really is. Their "pool party" jokes seemed more like something they needed to do as a distraction from themselves. Kinda hard to do, guys, when you're the only ones on stage. I was there to hear music, not jokes that only teenage girls would get a kick at. Though the two new songs had serious potential, consistent sound problems coupled with a performance that fell short didn't help. Even the lighting was bad (wish I could've done the lighting for them). Which makes me really think of how little, set-up wise, bands like this are given...as opposed to bands like YYY/Sonic Youth, who I saw a few weeks prior and the whole concert was put together well. I've been to hundreds of concerts and it's always the same scenario: unknown bands or opening bands get crappy set-ups. Be nice to see a concert where every single band is treated equally in that respect. In any case, The Shins were not an opening band.
In the end, I'll probably still listen to their recorded stuff (free and/or purchased), but this is a band I'll probably only see once live -- and last night was it. Too bad, I was looking forward to a good concert underneath the stars.
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L- are you serious? Were we at the same Lollapalooza?? They sounded like shit, worst act I saw all weekend. Only band ever that I really liked and walked away from. There were people in the back booing.
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You guys are rough. The show was fun. I stood next to a Demetri Martin look-a-like.
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"L" is on crack. They totally sucked at Lolla. Maybe it wasn't their fault but from the middle of the crowd and back you could barely hear them. I was excited about seeing them, but walked away to go to the bathroom like so many other people.
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I was near the front at Lolla- it wasn't much better hearing them.
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ok i dont know what your guys problem is but i thought the show was great. they played all the good songs, except "fighting in a sack" but i guess its pretty difficult to pull off a harmonica solo in that setting. frankly i thought them messing up new slang was hilarious, because im guessing their probably as tired of that song as i am. "when i goosestep" and "saint simon" were my two favorites of the night as they made surprisingly good live rock songs on par with their recorded versions. the rest was great too, and the new songs seem promising, especially "phantom limb." the only dissapointing performance was "girl on the wing" which is one of my favorites but was just completely underwhelming in concert. overall, great show.
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i love the shins. and i cannot wait for this new album. i am soooo excited!!!!
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Great concerts I've seen this summer:
Broken Social Scene, TV on the Radio at Prospect Park
Super Furry Animals at South Street Seaport
Of Montreal at Mcarren
Most of Lollapalooza
Sorry but the Shins are not on the list. It's not that I don't like them. It's not that I was not rooting for them. Quite the contrary. As for intentionally messing up "New Slang" because they are sick of it, please. That wasn't the case. And even if it was, give me a break. Nowhere was it written that they had to play that song. Look at Radiohead and "Creep." With a couple of exceptions, they haven't played that song at all in the last few years, and absolutely no one is complaining. The Shins have plenty of other songs that they could have played and their fans still would have been happy.
Do you know how many other musicians have played their hits to exhaustion? Dave Brubeck has been playing "Take Five" for over 50 years. The Rolling Stones concerts are now greatest hits collections. You stomache it and you cry all the way to the bank. They get no sympathy from me.
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this is funny that everyone is talking about how poorly the sound was managed. i saw them a few years ago and it was the best concert, sounde-wise, that i've ever been to. and the whole time i kept commenting on how it was the most perfect mix i've ever heard. maybe they outsourced their soundman.
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i didnt say the screwup was intentional, i just personally thought it was funny and its good to know they're not uptight enough to care just because everyone considers that their "hit." and if they hadnt played it people would have bitched even more than when tv on the radio didnt play "staring at the sun" at prospect park (also a great concert)
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Fun post on the origin of "Circus Walk" and other Shins recording mayhem by Marty's girlfriend:
http://elysesewell.livejournal.com/52322.html
To be honest, I don't really care too much about The Shins (gasp), but I sure love Elyse Sewell.
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