I'm going to go out on a limb and declare The Shins' new album Wincing the Night Away the best of 2007. I haven't listened to a CD so ad nauseum and still found new details to savor since Beck's Sea Change. Ravishing melodies, lush production details and brain noodling lyrics wash over you from end to end. Not to mention James Mercer's sweetly plaintive vocal goodness. (Personal favorite track: Red Rabbits. When James hits the line, "I might just give the old dark side a try" it just slays me. Really it does.)
In some ways, the album feels like one long song to me. And by "in some ways," I mean "in a very good way." Listening to it is like riding a gentle wave. It's soothing, but every once in awhile a swell catches you offguard, lifts you up and spins you around. I can't imagine any other release topping it this year. If that happens--if two albums reach this pinnacle of aural pleasure--then I will be beside myself, grinning the night away.
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