Portland, USA

I approached this album with cautious excitement. Hands shaking, breath quickening, mouth salivating to an extent generally deemed socially inappropriate. Could the Shins do it again? Create another album that would reinvent itself from the last while still sustaining the essence of their music that delights their loyal fans? Or would they revert to repetition, offer up merely a replicate of Chutes Too Narrow and cower shamefully under the damning eyes of NME, Pitchfork and all the other taste-makers so critical over any band's third attempt at a full length.

But worry not, O ye of little faith. Worry not. Doubt not the magnificence that is the Shins. Sub Pop Records deserve none of your unfounded skepticism. Cast aside your irrational doubts and rest comforted in the knowledge that both band and label have proved again entirely unable of publishing anything worthy of complaint.

Yes folks, I'm happy to report that Wincing The Night Away was no disappointment - rather, it cast a deliciously warm and reassuring glow on my entire weekend which will be sure to continue. Following the thoughtful opener, the second track 'Australia' will throw you right back into the delightfully childlike arms of Chutes Too Narrow and Oh! Inverted World - and from there until the close, with one or two exceptions, all you'll really feel like doing is riding a bicycle in the sun. With your best friend and an ice block. It's a tandem bicycle, and you're barefoot and everything...

This album offers those characteristic suspended melodies that twist and turn unpredictably, while still retaining that Shins-esque simplicity: long term fans will not be disappointed. But while tracks like 'Phantom Limb' and 'Australia' could sit comfortably on either of the previous full length albums, the Shins have yet again upped the production and sound engineering. Synths, distortions and lo-fi effects are present throughout - and on the odd occasion they even get a little funky. No, seriously.

Perhaps the most profound display of development in the band lies in the unexpected moodiness of Wincing. 'Black Wave' has a hollow mystery both lyrically and melodically, as though it was written and recorded atop an old and empty lighthouse - miles away from anything cute and/or pastel. The darker, deeper sound of 'A Comet Appears' - my favourite track - finishes the album off with lyrics like "Lets carve my aging face off/ fetch us a knife, start with my eyes/ down so the lines form a grimacing smile". Mercer? Is that YOU?

And for those playing at home, I predict 'Sea Legs' as a forecast of where the band intends to go from here - there's strings, there's windpipes and there's that eerie depth you won't find as much of in the previous albums, with the intricate structure of the song well complemented by the typically convoluted lyrics.

Wincing comes out in January next year. Yeah, it's been leaked all over the web. But don't steal it. Worth the wait.

MP3:| The Shins - Phantom Limb (off Subpop website) Thanks Oz!

myspace:| The Shins