Shearwater - 'Rook' (Matador) Released 02/06/08

Formed in 1999 by Jonathan Meiburg and Will Sheff of Indie wonder boys Okkervil River, Austin’s Shearwater were originally concieved as an outlet for the less anthemic and more cerebral elements of the duo’s sonic artillery. Where Okkervil River’s impassioned take on clenched fist celestial rock à la Arcade Fire elevated congregations into rapture, Shearwater were there for the morning after to hear your confessions and provide some welcome relief after the shouting, clapping revivalist preachers had left town.     

On ‘Rook’ they take the template of 2006 debut Palo Santo and twist it into thrilling new shapes, significantly expanding on the promising foundations of their cathedral to create something timeless and beatific. The opening ‘On the Death of the Waters’ lulls us into a false sense of security with barely a whisper and Antony Hegarty style vocals before erupting into a hailstorm of instrumentation and then settling down again at the piano.   

There, amongst the ghostly harmonies, outbursts of brass and distinctive piano coda of the title track, Meiburg appears to ruminate on the relationship between man and nature with a memorable sense of twilight longing that to an extent recalls the melancolic brilliance of The National. The entire album has the feel of Talk Talk in their ‘Spirit of Eden’ era scoring the soundtrack to ‘David Attenborough: The Musical’. A strange and novel idea perhaps but it is so good you end up wondering why no-one out there has come up with it before.  

The delicate ‘Home Life’ embodies the theme, a small army of woodwinds and harps advancing across a great expanse of land narrated by a voice that is the most fragile yet memorable of instruments.  ‘Lost Boys’ couldn’t sound less like its 80’s comedy-horror film soundtrack counterpart, it is all understated theatrics that fail to prepare us for the 2-minute outburst of ‘Century Eyes’, a lateral minded guitar stomper that brings to mind early REM. We can pay no higher compliment.      

‘The Snow Leopard’ and ‘The Hunter’s Star’ (we honestly aren’t making these up to suit our Man / Nature theory!) are an awe inspiring pair to finish the record, the former builds and builds around simple yet evocative piano, not dissimilar to Radiohead’s ‘Pyramid Song’ while the closing song is simply gorgeous, the best example of a voice that is rapidly becoming one of the finest in the contemporary International pop underground. 

So, the carnival may have left town and taken the star attraction of revivalist preachers with it but you can seek solace beneath the long wings of Shearwater for many a season until the shows come to town once again.