Out February 23rd on Matador, Shearwater’s sixth album - The Golden Archipelago – is a stunning, dramatic work that merges Art Rock, whispy Folk, nature sounds, and a soundscape of complex, shifting harmonies that move like light on leaves. From the outset, the album’s “Leaves Eclipse the Light” has an earthy, hypnotic quality that evokes the sense that we aren’t so much beginning an album as we are flowing into a more magnificent space. Though there are more frenetic moments – “Corridors” and “Castaways” for example – the album seems content to speak in an intimate, frank voice that is just for you alone.
And perhaps that’s best… at the suggestion of the folks over at NPR, I’ve given this album a couple of listens through nice headphones, and it really is immersive and grand.
The Matador review tells us, and I sincerely echo: “The results are singular, revelatory, and demand to be appreciated as a whole. Islands under siege, islands of impenetrable solitude, islands of the world and islands of the mind – all are here in The Golden Archipelago, whose shores and reefs flicker and beckon, even as they crumble under rising seas. “
You can hear the whole thing after the cut, courtesy of NPR, and you can download a couple of songs, too!
Enjoy!
Tracklist:
1. Meridian
2. Black Eyes
3. Landscape at Speed
4. Hidden Lakes
5. Corridors
6. God Made Me
7. Runners of the Sun
8. Castaways
9. An Insular Life
10. Uniforms
11. Missing Islands
Read more at NPR Music.
And download Black Eyes and Castaways, courtesy of Shearwater
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