Shearwater

There aren’t too many more bands I’ve seen live more times than I’ve seen the high-tension dramatics of Jonathan Meiburg’s Shearwater. The line-up supporting him might change from time to time, but with his song writing chops it’s always going to be a set of the utmost quality. Once part of Okkervil River and a keen ornithologist (the band is named after a winged beast, of course) and naturalist, Meiburg didn’t hit on real success with his band (also consisting of incredible drummer and multi-instrumentalist Thor Harris, who batters the skins for Swans, and upright bassist Kim Burke, who doesn’t always tour) until the “Island Arc” (from 2006 to 2010) trilogy of records Palo Santo, Rook and The Golden Archipelago. These records form the basis of the live set, and the songs from it often swell from gentle instrumental beginnings to dramatic climaxes based around Meiburg’s vocal gymnastics. Highlights are the piano-led histrionics of ‘Seventy-four, Seventy-five’, the string-laden ‘Leviathan Bound’ (played on some flattened harp contraption by Harris) and the beautiful balladry of ‘The Hunter’s Star’. Most recent album Animal Joy added some unexpected guitar muscle to the Shearwater repertoire, a product of a stripped down sound and not being able to tour with Harris and Burke but if you catch them in this form then you’ll hear a rousing cover version of R.E.M.’s ‘Begin the Begin’ which takes the place of their gorgeous version of Talk Talk’s ‘The Rainbow’.