The Shins - Wincing the Night Away

The first three Shins albums are all so great and unique that it was a bit hard for me to decide where to rank them all. I own the other two Shins albums digitally, so I'll get to them when I get to the 'S' section of my vinyl collection, which won't be for a while.

Wincing the Night Away is probably the most interesting Shins album, which doesn't necessarily mean it's the best (if pressed, I would say Oh, Inverted World is the best). This album is just so full of interesting ideas and textures that it's always a good listen. James Mercer's songcraft is as good as ever, and the production of the album always makes it sound like the band is singing in the next room (there's a distance to the intimacy of this album, if that makes sense). Anyway, Wincing the Night Away is always a joy to listen to. I feel like I've been handing out a lot 5-star scores today, but I'll be dog-goned if this album doesn't deserve it as well.