Shearwater (band)

Shearwater is an American indie rock band from Austin, Texas, led by multi-instrumentalist and lead singer Jonathan Meiburg,[1] a singer-songwriter. The band's music is notable for its imagery based in nature, cerebral yet intimate melodic songs, as well as Meiburg's vocals.[2][3]

Shearwater
Shearwater in 2014
Background information
OriginAustin, Texas
GenresIndie rock, psychedelic folk, folk rock
Years active1999–present
LabelsMisra, Matador, Sub Pop
Associated actsOkkervil River, Blue Water White Death, Whu Gnu, Swans, Angels of Light
Websiteshearwatermusic.com
MembersJonathan Meiburg
Lucas Oswald
Emily Lee
Sadie Powers
Josh Halpern
Past membersKimberly Burke
Thor Harris
Will Sheff
Christiaan Mader
Mitch Billeaud
Howard Draper
Jordan Geiger
Kevin Schneider
Danny Reisch
Abram Shook
Jesca Hoop

History

Early years

In 1999, Okkervil River band members Jonathan Meiburg and Will Sheff founded Shearwater as an outlet for quieter songs on which they were collaborating. The band's name comes from the shearwater, a tribe of seabirds related to petrels and albatrosses. Meiburg, who holds a master's degree in geography with a focus on ornithology, picked the name mostly for the sound of the word.[4]

Shearwater's debut, The Dissolving Room, introduced Kim Burke on upright bass; shortly after, drummer and vibraphonist Thor Harris joined the band. The addition of multi-instrumentalist Howard Draper plus tours and support dates with The Mountain Goats, Akron/Family and Blonde Redhead brought them exposure. Shearwater continued to produce music under this lineup in Everybody Makes Mistakes (2002) and Winged Life (2004), as well as the Thieves EP (2005).

In May 2006, Shearwater released Palo Santo, their fourth full-length album and last to be released on Misra Records, to much acclaim from critics and fans.[5][6] The song "Red Sea, Black Sea," was featured as an NPR Song of the Day.[7] NPR's Stephen Thompson subsequently named Palo Santo as the best album of 2006.[8] Although Sheff appeared as an instrumentalist for the recording of Palo Santo, the album's songs were composed and sung entirely by Meiburg, as the band felt that the songs that Meiburg had written were best suited for the project. Sheff then left the band to concentrate on other projects.[9]

Matador records

Midway through the tour for Palo Santo, the band was notified by Misra Records that they would be unable to continue to distribute Shearwater's music. Meiburg personally emailed the owner of Matador Records, Gerard Cosloy, who subsequently signed Shearwater to a multi-album deal. On April 10, 2007, Shearwater released a two-disc edition of Palo Santo which featured five re-recorded tracks, remastered versions of the other six tracks, as well as a bonus disc of outtakes from the original sessions. Meiburg had felt that the original Palo Santo suffered from "murkiness", and could be improved upon in the studio.[10]

Matador Records released the album Rook on June 3, 2008.[11] On the tour that followed, Shearwater opened for Clinic and later Coldplay. Additional touring accompanists were added at that time: Jordan Geiger of Hospital Ships and Minus Story (on cornet, synthesizer, and percussion) and Kevin Schneider of Black Before Red (on keyboard, bass, and guitar) replaced Howard Draper.

On February 23, 2010, Shearwater released their sixth album, The Golden Archipelago,[12] which the band produced with John Congleton.[13] The band toured extensively behind the record in 2010, with an international tours in the spring[14] (with Wye Oak and Hospital Ships opening) and additional U.S. dates in the fall[15] (with special guest Damien Jurado). The Golden Archipelago concluded the band's Island Arc trilogy, a project also encompassing Palo Santo and Rook.[16]

On November 6, 2010, the band released an instrumental album, Shearwater is Enron, via Bandcamp.[17] The album was recorded in the spring of 2010 and includes live material recorded at a performance under the pseudonym "Enron." It introduces some textures not traditionally associated with the band, such as electronic drum tracks and squalling guitar rock. Members of Wye Oak and Hospital Ships assist on the live tracks.[18]

Sub Pop records

In February 2012, a new full-length album called Animal Joy was released.[19] It was Shearwater's first record with Sub Pop Records.[16][20] The record signaled a new chapter for the band after the conclusion of the Island trilogy, as the album included more rock elements.[21] Following the release of the album, the band opened for the North American tour of Sharon Van Etten.[22]

In 2013, Fellow Travelers was released on Sub Pop, a Shearwater album consisting entirely of cover songs by bands that Shearwater had toured with.[23] Each band that was covered on the album was also invited to play on the album, under the condition that they could not play on their own song.[24]

The band's most recent record Jet Plane and Oxbow was released on Sub Pop January 22, 2016.[25][26] Frequent collaborator, producer Danny Reisch, worked on the album, as did composer Brian Reitzell, Wye Oak's Jenn Wasner, drummer Cully Symington, Howard Draper, and regular band members Jesca Hoop, Lucas Oswald, and Abram Shook.[27][28]

Jet Plane and Oxbow Tour and Self-Releases

The band toured the Jet Plane and Oxbow album in 2016. The lineup for the tour was considerably different than the studio album, retaining Meiburg and Oswald but adding Emily Lee on keyboards, Sadie Powers on bass and Josh Halpern on drums. During the tour, it was customary for the band to play several covers from the David Bowie album Lodger as an encore. On March 25, 2016, the entire album was covered at Chicago's Schuba's Tavern, followed by a subsequent recording for the AV Club the next day. This was released as a limited edition vinyl and digital download and would eventually lead to a performance of the entire Berlin Trilogy at Brookfield Place, New York for WNYC in October of 2018.

During the tour, Meiburg became impressed with openers Cross Record.[29] Meiburg and Cross Record's Emily Cross and Dan Duszynski went on to form a side-project, Loma, which has released two albums on Sub Pop: the self-titled Loma (2018) and Don't Shy Away (2020).

In 2020, Shearwater began production of a crowdfunded studio album, but the recording was disrupted as a result of the covid-19 lock-down. In response, Meiburg enlisted Dan Duszynski to produce the ambient Quarantine Music series, released digitally through Bandcamp. The studio album is scheduled to be released in 2021.

Discography

Albums

Splits

EPs

Timeline

References
  1. Swaminathan, Nikhil (August 4, 2008). "Birdman/Bandman: A Q&A with Shearwater's Jonathan Meiburg". Scientific American. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
  2. Gendron, Bob (April 6, 2010). "Shearwater combines power, peacefulness". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
  3. Kelly, Jennifer (February 14, 2012). "Animal Spirits: an Interview with Shearwater's Jonathan Meiburg". PopMatters. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
  4. Moores, Charlie (2009). "Interview: Jonathan Meiburg of 'Shearwater'". 10,000 Birds. Archived from the original on January 5, 2010. Retrieved August 15, 2009.
  5. Sanneh, Kelefa (May 29, 2006). "Critics' Choice: New CDs; Shearwater Palo Santo (Misra)". The New York Times. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
  6. Sanneh, Kelefa (July 8, 2006). "Music Review; Shearwater's Songs Stretch From the Heavens to the Deep Sea". The New York Times. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
  7. Yu, Kathryn (April 5, 2006). "Telling Tales of Stormy Seas". NPR Music. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
  8. Thompson, Stephen (December 25, 2006). "Songs of the Year: Top 10 CDs of 2006". NPR Music. Retrieved May 26, 2016.
  9. Haupt, Melanie (May 12, 2006). "Transcendentalism: Shearwater's Jonathan Meiburg wants you to listen, but you can't sing along". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
  10. Jason Crock (April 2, 2007). "Shearwater". Pitchfork.com. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
  11. Takacs, Lou (June 10, 2008). "Interview: Jonathan Meiburg of Shearwater". Aural States. Archived from the original on June 11, 2008. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
  12. Allen, Dustin (February 24, 2010). "Shearwater – The Golden Archipelago". American Songwriter. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
  13. Van Meter, William (March 1, 2010). "Now Listening: Shearwater's "The Golden Archipelago"". The New York Times. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
  14. "Shearwater – new album, MP3 & 2010 Tour Dates w/ Wye Oak & Hospital Ships (Bowery Ballroom)". Brooklyn Vegan. January 13, 2010. Retrieved November 21, 2010.
  15. "Shearwater on tour, released some new stuff". Brooklyn Vegan. November 8, 2010. Retrieved November 21, 2010.
  16. Hoinski, Michael (March 5, 2012). "Shearwater Celebrate New CD With Hometown Gig in Austin". Rolling Stone. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
  17. ""Shearwater is Enron" by Shearwater". Bandcamp. November 6, 2010. Retrieved November 21, 2010.
  18. Hann, Kaylen (November 19, 2010). "Shearwater Shearwater is ENRON". Coke Machine Glow. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
  19. Thompson, Stephen (February 5, 2012). "First Listen: Shearwater, 'Animal Joy'". NPR. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
  20. "Sub Pop Records: Now with 100% More Shearwater". Sub Pop Records. Archived from the original on December 2, 2013. Retrieved November 25, 2013.
  21. Breihan, Tom (February 14, 2012). "Album Of The Week: Shearwater Animal Joy". Stereogum. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
  22. Pelly, Jenn (March 13, 2012). "Watch Sharon Van Etten and Shearwater Cover "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around"". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
  23. Schaefer, John (March 31, 2014). "Shearwater: Grandiose And Operatic Pop". WNYC Soundcheck. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
  24. Humphries, Stephen (November 27, 2013). "Track-by-Track: Shearwater on "Fellow Travelers" – The Complete Interview Jonathan Meiburg on the Band's Ninth Album (Web Exclusive)". Under the Radar. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
  25. "Playlist: Shearwater – The Snow Leopard". KEXP-FM. December 16, 2014. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
  26. "Jet Plane and Oxbow – Shearwater". AllMusic. Retrieved January 25, 2016.
  27. Minsker, Evan (October 20, 2015). "Oxbow, Share "Quiet Americans"". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved October 20, 2015.
  28. Azerrad, Michael; Meiburg, Jonathan. "Michael Azerrad vs. Jonathan Meiburg on Jet Plane and Oxbow". Sub Pop Records. Retrieved October 20, 2015.
  29. Payne, Helen. "'It Seemed To Come From Somewhere Outside of Us': Jonathan Meiburg Talks Loma's Sublime Debut - Stereoboard". Stereoboard.com. Retrieved October 24, 2020.
  30. Hernandez, Raoul (August 30, 2013). "Shearwater & Sharon Van Etten – "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" b/w "A Wake for the Minotaur" (Sub Pop)". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
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