Shearwater – The New World – Album Review
by Killian Laher

This is the eighth Shearwater album and their first for four years.  The band, fronted by Jonathan Meiburg, has carved out something of a niche for itself, conjuring up some of the more cerebral chamber pop coming out of the US.  The album opens uneasily with Even Song, Meiburg’s trembling voice singing “God is good, and God is great” over a looping guitar pattern.  It is quite a complex track, and the production is superb.  There is a minimum of pause between the end of this song and More and More, which follows it.  This one channels Talk Talk’s “The Rainbow” with plenty of interesting background sounds – woodwind, birds, church bells, and all manner of things.

The piano-driven Daydream Unbeliever starts out relatively sparsely before the track is engulfed in bass, drums and orchestral flourishes, creating an enormous sound.  Although there is a variety of differing sounds on here, it never threatens to overwhelm the track.  More eerie bird sounds introduce the moody The Only Sound I’m Afraid Of with a very Mark Hollis vocal from Meiburg.  The track reaches something of a cathartic climax about a minute before the end.  It leads neatly into The High Ranges, a slinky, haunting track that ambles along plenty for six minutes or so.  The relatively snappy Slugs in the Marigolds finishes off with a nice bit of woodwind towards the end, leading into Anamnesis.  This is a very pared-back, mysterious crawl, subtle as bedamned, one which I suspect will take several listens to reveal itself fully.  The final piano piece is a real departure, a poignant, seven-minute spoken word piece, You and Your Dog, and the words come from none other than Laurie Anderson.

The album has a gentle power that’s waiting till your guard is down to creep up behind you.  If you’re not careful, it might scratch your eyes out in a tasteful way.  It’s music that can really take you out of yourself, a fine piece of work in an already impressive discography.

Daydream Unbeliever