Tom Lynch

If a microscope has ever truly been put on a band, it's now on Portland's The Shins.

After debuting with the impressive, inspired "Oh, Inverted World" (written while they were still located in New Mexico), the group followed with 2003's "Chutes Too Narrow." While the first record seemed to find that balance of melody and quirkiness so many indie-pop bands from the turn of the century were longing for (the combination of sixties pop and Echo and the Bunnymen-type fuzz was extraordinary), the follow-up spread a gloss over the tracks, as the band boosted the production, honed its songwriting skills with a more adventuresome approach and, with the help of Phil Ek, became the foundation of Pacific Northwestern indie rock.

Then the A-bomb dropped. "Scrubs"'s Zach Braff decided to make a movie, decided that he liked The Shins and decided to have the impossibly lovable Natalie Portman push the band with both hands, in 2004's "Garden State." He chose "New Slang" as the flick's anthem--not a bad choice, it is one of the best from "Oh, Inverted World"--but the exposure opened the band to this inverted world, indeed. A big tour followed and the band--who put off writing and recording a third record to set out on the road--saw its two records' combined sales exceed one million (a big score for label Sub Pop) and was shot into unexpected, surreal popularity.

It's taken nearly four full years for "Wincing the Night Away," The Shins' third album, to see the light of day. Part of the record sounds new; strange, airy and experimental songs pop up like the hip-hop-beat-backed "Sea Legs" and interluding "Pam Berry," plus the band takes chances with rhythm and empty space--not to mention leader James Mercer's vocal strengths--on "Red Rabbits." Some of the record sounds vintage; on opener "Sleeping Lessons," a Shins-esque, quieter melody gives way to a Shins-esque, amped-up pop marathon. Follower "Australia" follows suit. Closer "A Comet Appears" sounds exactly like what Mercer wouldwrite to close an album--fingerpicked, electric guitar sweeping and the lyric "Let's carve my aging face off/ Fetch us a knife/ We'll start with my eyes/ Down so the lines form a grimacing smile" resonate pretty well--and the sublime single "Phantom Limb," the best piece on the album, fuzzed-out and jumpy and featuring a memorable, surf-guitar-like lead, is pitch perfect.

"There was way more pressure for `Chutes Too Narrow,'" guitarist Dave Hernandez says of what the band was feeling while preparing the record. "That was my impression of the vibe. With `Wincing,' we felt less pressure because we were given more time to record, write and everything."

The band set out to blend the style of its previous two outings. "The plan was to strike a clear balance between `Oh, Inverted World'--the spacious, psych feel of `Oh Inverted World'--with the real clear punch of `Chutes Too Narrow.'"

Hernandez says that the band accepted the hype it received from the "Garden State" experience more or less with a grain of salt. "It wasn't upsetting," he says, "it was interesting and a tad confusing. But it helped. It was cool and it did expose us to a lot of new people... . It's interesting--our fans are getting to be unlike any fans we've ever had. It's all part of the thing. We all come from working-class backgrounds; we're very appreciative of what's going on. Our attitude is sort of `This is our job, who are we to complain? There are way worse jobs in the world.' It's really not our place to be like, `Oh my god, some mother likes us in Idaho, because of the movie, that sucks!'"

Some striking moments on "Wincing the Night Away" show the band's eagerness to cram in strange, psycho-atmospheric effects and bites into its songs--evidence that some writing takes place in studio, on the spot. "We really have fun doing really crazy sound effects," Hernandez says, "being music nerds and making weird noises. You need to not be completely in love with every second of what you think a song will sound like. The smallest things will happen. A song will take a left turn... We enjoy that. We are intrigued to see what that change will be. I like just letting go, and I've not always been like that. I used to be really possessive. But it's really nice watching the songs, because of their strength, survive any type of manipulation."

An unfortunate consequence of growing popularity is the necessity to play bigger venues while on tour. "We just came back from L.A., we did an in-store at Amoeba for the album release, and it was a very intimate show. I really miss it. It was really cool, being able to be that close, really play around people. There's something super-rad about having a big show, having everyone cheering, but I really miss the intimate stuff--the olden days."

The Shins play February 10 at Congress Theater, 2135 North Milwaukee, (312)923-2000, at 8pm. $28.

(2007-02-06)

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