Reviews 29/8/07

The Shins - Wincing the Night Away

Garnering some attention with their sophomore effort "Chutes too Narrow" and of Garden State fame and being one of the first albums to be released in 2007, Wincing the Night Away was well anticipated amongst the "indie" community. With the pre-album single release of Phantom Limb I was no doubt licking my lips.

The album is delightful from beginning to end with tracks full of dreamlike sweet soundscapes soaked in sugar coated pop melodies. Singer/Songwriter/Mainman/Frontman James Mercer is at his best here. WtnA is a bit of a departure from their first two albums which may segregate old fan from the new fans.

Wincing the Night Away is The Shins most ambitious set of songs released to date, which shall not disappoint.

7/10



Live Reviews

The Cure - Brisbane Entertainment Centre - 8/8/07

With a career now spanning over 30 years, the Cure returned to our shores for a string of shows, being their first in quite sometime, though this not a "normal" tour this was a fairly familar concept in which the band performed a retrospective show. This was the Cure showcasing their material from over the years with over 10 albums of material to select from.

With no opening act which is fairly uncommon to not have these days. With a fairly metallic kind of set up with most equipment silver or black, the boys hit the stage, donning huge amounts of make up, which was no suprise and of course Robert Smith, returning last to stage recieving most applause and cheers as predicted.

The band begun in glorious, thundering fashion, such a huge sound for a four piece, playing songs ranging from their pop hits such as Just Like Heaven, Let's Go to Bed, Inbetween Days and Close to Me to lesser known fan favourites from albums such as Three Imaginary Boys to their latest self titled effort.

As promised the set went for a duration of 3 hours, with a set list of over 30 songs, such a magnificent concert, the crowd just in awe of Smith the whole time.

Only bone to pick i had was lack of synth/keyboards, which is just a must for a great deal of their songs in which they just made up for by adding guitar parts.

Great Concert.

http://www.cure-concerts.de/concerts/2007-08-08.php


Sean B