The avian influence runs deep with Austin, TX’s Shearwater. Past referencing birds through their name, album title, artwork, and lyrics, there is something in the music itself that elicits the imagery: that of riding air currents in an orbiting descent, of the breezes created from a rustling wing, and of a shed feather left to marvel at.
Rook, Shearwater’s first album of new material to be released on Matador Records, opens with singer/songwriter Jonathan Meiburg’s improbable falsetto skimming gently over the first bars of ‘On the Death of the Waters’. The track sets the record up well as the placid piano is broken by a storm of heavy rhythm and horns. There is no discordant clash though; the dynamics occur naturally like a tide you’ve been expecting to come in.
Following a parallel path to 2006’s excellent Palo Santo, Rook doesn’t stray so close to the yawning precipice. It is a comfortable album and while the title track may be the closest thing to a radio-friendly single the band has recorded, the cascading ‘Home Life’ is perhaps a more fitting title to match the album’s mainly pastoral appeal.
‘Century Eyes’ and ‘The Snow Leopard’ show the band flexing muscle with driving intensity. The latter track in particular demonstrates Shearwater’s impressive ability to progress a song without relying on repetition or standard patterns. Credit also must be given to percussionist Thor Harris for enlivening the songs by drawing some of the most curious sounds out of his cymbals and vibes.
Often compared to later-era Talk Talk, Shearwater strike the same ethereal, esoteric chord. With shimmering ease, they tap into a naturalism that musicians have explored since time immemorial. Like an unexpected crisp breeze or an alighting bird that pulls you into an appreciative moment of the surrounding world, Shearwater’s Rook is refreshingly expansive and worth patient exploration.
Rook, Shearwater’s first album of new material to be released on Matador Records, opens with singer/songwriter Jonathan Meiburg’s improbable falsetto skimming gently over the first bars of ‘On the Death of the Waters’. The track sets the record up well as the placid piano is broken by a storm of heavy rhythm and horns. There is no discordant clash though; the dynamics occur naturally like a tide you’ve been expecting to come in.
Following a parallel path to 2006’s excellent Palo Santo, Rook doesn’t stray so close to the yawning precipice. It is a comfortable album and while the title track may be the closest thing to a radio-friendly single the band has recorded, the cascading ‘Home Life’ is perhaps a more fitting title to match the album’s mainly pastoral appeal.
‘Century Eyes’ and ‘The Snow Leopard’ show the band flexing muscle with driving intensity. The latter track in particular demonstrates Shearwater’s impressive ability to progress a song without relying on repetition or standard patterns. Credit also must be given to percussionist Thor Harris for enlivening the songs by drawing some of the most curious sounds out of his cymbals and vibes.
Often compared to later-era Talk Talk, Shearwater strike the same ethereal, esoteric chord. With shimmering ease, they tap into a naturalism that musicians have explored since time immemorial. Like an unexpected crisp breeze or an alighting bird that pulls you into an appreciative moment of the surrounding world, Shearwater’s Rook is refreshingly expansive and worth patient exploration.
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