Achtung: EARLY SHOW - Doors: 20h, Julie Doiron: 20.30h, Shearwater 21.30h
It’s been suggested—by fans, detractors, even by
the band’s founder—that Shearwater and whatever we call
underground/indie/whatever-rock in this part of the century are not an obvious
fit. And that’s true. So much of what we hear these days (the lousy stuff,
anyway) is willfully insular; Jonathan Meiburg’s songs, by contrast, have
constantly tackled bigger questions and been propelled by massive musical
ambitions. We’re in an era in which minimalism and lower-than-low-tech have
come in vogue. By contrast, Shearwater’s recordings—the epic “Island Arc”
trilogy of
Palo Santo,
Rook and
The Golden
Archipelago in particular—have been expansive (some might say bombastic)
in a fashion like none of their contemporaries. Meiburg—presumably unfamiliar
with the adage, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”—has opted to ditch an
approach that paid huge artistic dividends over his last three Matador albums for
a record that seems shockingly direct, immediate and intensely personal. He’s
no stranger to lush, crafted recordings, but this one sounds like no prior
Shearwater incarnation. And please, don’t mistake that for a suggestion this is
anyone’s notion of a traditional, singer-songwriter album. “Immaculate” and
“Breaking the Yearlings” are inventive and confident in a manner that would
humble most new artists, let alone Shearwater’s few veteran peers. “Insolence”
is (take your pick) an unsparing bit of self-reflection or an evisceration of
someone else; either way, the song covers a staggering amount of sonic
territory in the space of six minutes plus. No disrespect whatsoever is
intended to Meiburg’s sometimes-Austin neighbors Spoon when I call “Believing
Makes It Easy” a song that would rank amongst that band’s finest had they come
up with it instead. Though it’s possibly a wild projection to claim a few years
of bouncing through various band lineups, record labels and places of residence
have led to a radical reboot, I’m a big believer in citing circumstantial
evidence and letting the jury figure it out for themselves. Someone’s bound to
label this Shearwater’s transitional album, but to these ears, it sounds like a
thrilling artistic rebirth. Just give ’em the fucking Grammy already!
shearwatermusic.com
www.facebook.com/pages/Shearwater/156311098172?ref=mf
JULIE DOIRON schreibt: ”I ‘ve been playing for quite a while now…
I started my first real band: Eric’s Trip in 1990, and have played ever since. When we broke up in 1996 is when I really started to play a lot as me, Julie Doiron… I am still me, Julie Doiron but I have been lucky enough to still be making music and to have played with a lot of great people! Thanks to you all for sure!
juliedoiron.com
DJ ANT‘S 80‘S CLUB
