Artist: Shearwater
Album: The Golden Archipelago
Released: February 2010
Label: Matador Records
Genre: indie rock
Purchase date: 07 March 2010
Source: eMusic
Format: MP3 files
Jonathan Meiburg is the creative force behind Shearwater, a hard-to-describe indie rock band from Texas. The band's music can be quiet but intense, noisy yet lyrical, and melancholy while life-affirming. I first encountered this band while listening to All Song Considered "Best of 2007" year-end show, and they played the track "Seventy-Four Seventy-Five" from that year's Palo Santo album. I was blown away, and bought the album the same day. Two albums later, the band has lowered the intensity and increased the complexity. The Golden Archipelago is a rich and complex music experience, intended to be experienced as a whole album rather than as a collection of beautiful songs. While the album doesn't have the searing rock tracks that gave Palo Santo or 2008's Rook their visceral high points, the whole work is a captivating journey through an imaginary island chain. There really isn't a weak track on this album.
Meiburg's voice has an eerie timbre to it that's quite captivating. His articulation is just loose enough to make you not exactly sure what all the words are, but compelling enough to make you want to figure them out. This is a gorgeous recording, and is one of my favorite albums of the year.
Rating: A
No longer available at eMusic
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