Page 10
ARTS & LIFE
The Clarion \ February 2, 2007
CD Review
Shins break the mold, again
Buckethead
by Aaron Palmer
Managing Editor
The Shins
Wincing the Night Away
Sub Pop, 2007
★ ★★★
Indie-pop rock band. The Shins
finally release their third and
heavily anticipated album, “Winc
ing The Night Away.” After gain
ing notoriety from Zach Braff’s
Garden State, the band has moved
in a direction above and beyond
what they once filled coffee shops
with. Though still holding true to
their sound. The Shins have de
veloped to piece together a fully
enjoyable album.
Opening with the track
“Sleeping Lessons,” the band
drifts through an electronic atmo
sphere with a simple 1,4,5 swing
scale. The perfect mood setter
explodes halfway through into the
true meaning of pop that will have
your feet moving and head bounc
ing until the last note. The album
progresses with a steady flow of
songs using elements of surf rock,
electronica, pop, and infectious
melodies that only add to the al
ready great sound the band has
developed. Singer James Mercer’s
voice now carries beyond the
wispy tracks on previous albums.
His tunes stay well written,
catchy and meaningful, not some
thing found in many bands today.
Indie-rock on the rise, this album
just may take off in the direction
of fellow artists such as Modest
Mouse and Death Cab For Cutie.
Naysayers of new music beware.
These guys can actually write
some good songs. New fans will
enjoy and old fans will not be dis
appointed.
I give it four out of five stars.
continued from page 9
ing a very in depth biography.
There is also a year by year video
collection that shows footage of a
young Buckethead playing bass
and doing various odd things, as
well as a music video section that
has a couple of interesting videos
and a lot of low budget animated
pieces.
Though he has played with
many bands, the video of
Buckethead performing with one
is limited and there is almost no
pro shot material. I would have
loved to see some footage with
Buckethead and Les Claypool
playing, but there is none to be
found.
One saving grace is that the sec
ond disc contains two full live
Buckethead solo shows, the most
recent of which is really good.
Both are audience shot, but are still
decent in the audio/visual depart
ment. Unfortunately, they are
absolutely solo shows with
Buckethead playing along to pre
recorded drum and bass tracks.
Buckethead is a great musician, but
this poor DVD only deserves 2
out of 5 stars.
THE
SHins
m
We need a copy
editor!
Come to I^G
113 at 4:00p.m.
on Mondays!