CD Review: The Shins' 'Wincing the Night Away'

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THE SHINS' THIRD ALBUM, "Wincing the Night Away" (Sub Pop) is filled with the lovely retro pop that has made the group indie-rock faves — yet it's still wonderfully unpredictable and unfamiliar thanks to the album's crystalline production.

Whereas the band's debut, "Oh, Inverted World," re-created a series of subtle, '60s psychedelic ripples from track to track, "Wincing the Night Away" has that hollow, detached, '80s-ish feel reminiscent of Echo & the Bunnymen.

But delving into that period doesn't feel like a gimmick. "Wincing" feels 100 percent natural — standing on its own, it feels a perfect fit for any era.

Loads of bands enter "experimental" phases in hopes of plotting a new sound. In that sense, the Shins are the Thomas Edison of indie pop: Every experiment works.

The bubbling "Sleeping Lessons," which first sounds as if frontman James Mercer were singing with his head in a bucket of water, slowly sets the warbling guitar riff into a crashing joyride.

Other notable songs include the softly buzzing to coolly soaring "Phantom Limb," the reverb-tastic swagger of "Turn on Me" and the oddly snapping water-glass-shimmer of "Red Rabbits," but the entire CD is filled with equally great inventions.

Photo by Brian Tamborello