10

American indie at its finest.

2007 may have brought the tremendous ‘Wincing The Night Away’ album and some shows that are still talked of now but 2007 didn’t seem to push The Shins any further forward. Perhaps their album came out too early in the year for it to be recalled by many at the end of year run-down but it is criminal it was overlooked by many in their annual shake-down.

The only problem is, if the releases of last year failed to gather momentum for the band then ‘Sealegs’, is unlikely to change things for 2008.Dont get us wrong, its an excellent song, full of the usual melodies and guitar twists that you would expect from the band but if last years singles failed to win over new people, ‘Sealegs’ will struggle to do the business. Then again, it’s a bit darker downbeat than some of their uplifting moments so it may draw in a few lovers of the darker side.

If you already love The Shins, sit back and enjoy another welcome release from one of the more pleasing American indie bands of recent years and if you’ve yet to find out what this act is really all about, one of your resolutions for 2008 should be to buy some of their albums • which will be easier to manage and far more pleasurable than trying to give up smoking or drinking.