July 10, 2008

Shearwater -- FREE INSTORE

Shearwater Free In-store Performance
Wednesday, July 16th - 7:00pm

Shearwater returns with the hugely ambitious follow-up to their last album, Palo Santo, which was picked as NPR's best album of 2006. Rook meditates on man's intersection with the natural world: the hunter and the prey; the extinction of species; the world after human beings are gone. On a wider level, the vivid images of animals and landscapes act as a metaphor for human relationships, a dark fairy tale encased in a cycle of songs. Jonathan Meiburg's bold, soaring voice, occasionally falsetto, still anchors the songs, which broaden his pastoral prog-folk chaotic celestial mindbuggery into new realms. Beyond the continuing touchstones of late Talk Talk, Nico and John Cale, there are now allusions to Van Morrison, hints of Joni Mitchell. All this is set in a newly lush sonic gorgeousness of harp, strings and woodwinds atop the magnificent rhythm section of Thor Harris and Kim Burke.

Shearwater is currently opening dates for Coldplay, including July 15th and 16th at the Forum (so make sure you arrive early, if you're going to the show.)

This is a free event for Live Music Club members, but you'll need to call us to get on the guest list.

Check out a couple of their songs on their myspace page.

Here is some recent press:
"Shearwater has magnificently outdone itself. Not only is Rook destined to be named one of 2008's favorites, but it could be one of the best albums for years to come...Rook is among the most achingly beautiful things ever recorded."
     - Pop Matters

"A quiet ferocity belied by gorgeous, soaring melodies"
     - Entertainment Weekly

"A rich, occasionally macabre, fantasy world...ornately orchestrated mini-epics...beautiful tragedies where dead swallows serve as a metaphor for the human condition."
     - Blender

"Meiburg has delivered the album of his life...an impeccable ambiance that's both spooky and glistening....While earlier albums hinted at the kind of open-air pastorals that the band was capable of, Rook delivers on all the promise."
     - Prefix

"The kind of music people fall in love with."
     - Under The Radar

"With Rook they have fashioned an album that is melodic, tender, outstanding but above all, captivating. One thing is for sure, this is one of the best albums of the year."
     - Delusions of Adequacy

"This record is too good to be kept a secret, and whether the general public pick up on it, only time will tell... This is a record you will want to live with and savour for a very long time."
     - 17 Seconds

"Shearwater continues the tradition of detailed, reflective songwriting set by classic artists like Nick Drake and Leonard Cohen and contemporary indie rock songwriters such as Bill Callahan and Will Oldham.”
     - All Music Guide

Click here to sample/buy Rook