An explorer, ecologist, and folk hero, Jonathan Meiburg is the Jacques Cousteau of indie-rock. A former graduate student with a specialty in geography and ornithology, the Shearwater frontman named both his Austin, Texas-based band and their critically-acclaimed 2008 album Rook after types of birds, and his gorgeously pastoral music examines nature with a scientist’s eye.
Inspired by research Meiburg conducted everywhere from the Galapagos to a remote Aboriginal community in northern Australia, The Golden Archipelago is a vivid illustration of the isolation of island life. The opening track begins with an eerie incantation of Bikini Atoll’s national anthem, sung by exiled Bikinians evacuated from their homeland after the staging of nuclear bomb tests. Over a delicate interlay of piano, brass and string instruments, Meiburg pays further tribute to their memories in “Meridian” and “God Made Me,” two chilling tales of “the roar in the sky… and the flames that fall / like fireflies.”
But where there’s terror, there’s also wonder: on the percussion-heavy ballad “Landscape at Speed” and the music-box waltz “Hidden Lakes,” Meiberg finds himself awed by the secret worlds of plants and animals. Singing in a fragile falsetto about long-lost native communities and the flora and fauna that’s grown in their stead, he’s written a celebration of life — both the kind we’ve largely left behind, and the kind that goes on without us.
Video: Shearwater – The Golden Archipelago Trailer
No longer available
Limited Edition Dossier
In conjunction with the release of Shearwater’s new album, The Golden Archipelago, singer Jonathan Meiburg and designer Mark Ohe have created a beautiful, full-color, 75-page, 8 x 10.5” dossier as a companion piece that you can obtain only through Kickstarter.com
The dossier is a visual guide to the world of the The Golden Archipelago, primarily composed of photographs and documents collected by JM from islands and other singular places around the world. Among its pages are the national anthem of Bikini Atoll, the story of a charming and fatally obsessed German aviator and explorer, notes from the daily life of a remote Aboriginal village occupied by missionaries, and photographs from an island Jules Verne considered “The End of the World,” where endangered animals remain unafraid of humans. It also features production credits and full lyrics for The Golden Archipelago and its B-sides.
The dossier’s loose, numbered pages will come packaged in a personalized, numbered, heavy-duty envelope fastened with a string tie.
You can check details of the limited edition dossiers here
Downloads
Castaways: contains a zip file with track and artwork.
Shearwater – The Golden Archipelago Tracks
Black Eyes
[audio:http://www.matadorrecords.com/mpeg/shearwater/shearwater_black_eyes.mp3|titles=Black Eyes|artists=Shearwater]
Tour Dates
- 02/17 – Amsterdam, NL @ Melkweg
- 02/18 – Brussels, B @ Botanique
- 02/19 – Paris, F @ Le Nouveau Casino
- 02/20 – Saint-Malo, F @ L’Omnibus
- 02/21 – Brighton, UK @ The Freebutt
- 02/22 – Leeds, UK @ Brudenell Social Club
- 02/23 – Glasgow, UK @ Captain’s Rest
- 02/24 – Manchester, UK @ The Ruby Lounge
- 02/25 – London, UK @ Scala
- 02/26 – Diksmuide, B @ 4AD
- 02/27 – Hamburg, D @ Knust
- 02/28 – Berlin, D @ Magnet Club
- 03/02 – Munich, D @ 59 to 1
- 03/03 – Geneva, CH @ L’Usine (PTR)
- 03/04 – Fribourg, CH @ Nouveau Monde
- 03/05 – Milan, I @ La Casa 139
- 03/06 – Montpellier, F @ La Taf
- 03/07 – Barcelona, ES @ La (2) de Apolo
- 03/08 – Madrid, ES @ Moby Dick
- 03/19 – Austin, TX @ Antone’s (SXSW)
- 03/24 – Atlanta, GA @ The Earl
- 03/25 – Chapel Hill, NC @ Local 506
- 03/26 – Washington, DC @ Rock N’ Roll Hotel
- 03/27 – New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
- 03/28 – Philadephia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s
- 03/30 – Boston, MA @ TT The Bears
- 03/31 – Montreal, QC @ La Sala Rosa
- 04/01 – Toronto, ON @ Lee’s Palace
- 04/02 – Ithaca, NY @ Castaways
- 04/03 – Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Tavern
- 04/04 – Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall
- 04/05 – Milwaukee, WI @ Mad Planet
- 04/06 – Minneapolis, MN @ 400 Bar
- 04/07 – Grinnell, IA @ Grinnell College
- 04/08 – Lawrence, KS @ Bottleneck
- 04/09 – Norman, OK @ Opolis
- 04/10 – Dallas, TX @ The Loft
- 04/22 – Phoenix, AZ @ Rhythm Room
- 04/23 – Tucson, AZ @ Club Congress
- 04/24 – Los Angeles, CA @ Spaceland
- 04/25 – San Francisco, CA @ Bottom of the Hill
- 04/27 – Portland, OR @ Doug Fir
- 04/28 – Vancouver, BC @ The Biltmore
- 04/29 – Seattle, WA @ Triple Door
- 04/30 – Pullman, WA @ The Belltower
- 05/01 – Boise, ID @ Neurolux
- 05/02 – Salt Lake City, UT @ The State Room
- 05/04 – Denver, CO @ The Walnut Room
- 05/05 – Albuquerque, NM @ Launchpad
- 05/07 – Austin, TX @ The Parish
