The Shins - Wincing the Night Away

Recorded in singer/guitarist James Mercer's basement studio, Phil Ek's Seattle digs and in Oregon City with veteran engineer Joe Chiccarelli (Beck, U2), Wincing the Night Away is The Shins' third full-length album. It's also the sound of a band growing up and out. Mercer's infectious, indelible melodic style is still at the core, and unfaltering. But anything can happen around it – and in this case, it does. While the vocals channel the spirit of Morrissey, "Sea Legs" pairs a loping hip-hop beat with lush melody and searing guitars. Elsewhere the band toys with tweaked-out, liquid piano steeped in kaleidoscopic strings ("Red Rabbit"); fractured synth samples ("Split Needles"); gauzy keyboards cloaking thunderous anthems ("Sleeping Lessons"); and, taking cues from early Jesus and Mary Chain albums, sweeping, fuzz-toned epics ("Phantom Limb").