Wincing The Night Away

Today's Music That Jason Pretty Much Saw Coming is The Shins' Wincing The Night Away. Let me start by saying that I think the Shins are okay. Not awful, but not great, either. I probably wouldn't go see them in concert, but I couldn't also see myself scolding anyone for liking them, I guess.

So here's the deal. Their previous album, Chutes Too Narrow, had some softer, more introspective songs, and some upbeat jangly rock songs. The overall balance of the album worked, even if it was a little too safe for my taste. Now, Wincing The Night Away seems to be all that with less ambition. It's like Chutes Too Narrow was a housecat that had been declawed in the front, and that wasn't enough, so someone got its back claws taken out and had its fangs filed a little too, and then the cat had to have its name changed to Wincing The Night Away. Also, Wincing The Night Away is a pretty awful name for an album. Is it supposed to be clever? Irony is only dangerous in reference to something other than itself.

No, this album isn't bad, but it's just too safe. I can't say that it rocks, even if some of the songs are clever and well put-together. I guess I've just heard too much other good indie music that really affected me to accept something like this as revolutionary or even insightful any more. I listened to this album three times in the past week but I still can't remember any of the songs, save for "Phantom Limb", which has been everywhere for months now. Contrast that to "Crane Wife Pt 3" from The Decemberists' The Crane Wife, which I loved immediately, and I hope you can see why Wincing The Night Away will go back to the library from whence it came.

In other news:
It's Banquet Weekend! And I still fit into my leather pants. Awesome.