speed of dark

Shearwater with Jonathan Meiburg, center
Well, I was going to write a review of Death Cab's Narrow Stairs, and I may still do it, but I got distracted by the release of Shearwater's Rook, which I have found much more unique and compelling.

Jonathan Meiburg, the central force and vocalist of Shearwater, has one of the most incredible voices in current rock. The range and delicacy of his falsetto has an ethereal quality that is mesmerizing, and he has gathered around him a group of musicians who clearly grasp his musical vision.

Then when you get past marveling at the shear beauty of the vocals and start listening to the words, a whole other level of the music opens up. The lyrics are immersed in the love and appreciation of nature, particularly birds, a theme that began with 2004's Winged Life and continued with Palo Santo (2006). But everything comes together even more fully and beautifully on this album. If you heard the early release of "Rooks" and fell under its spell as I did, there is even more to enjoy on the rest of the album.

Some songs are calm and contemplative, like most of the opening track "On the Death of the Water," the drifting "I Was a Cloud," and the Tibetan drones of the instrumental "South Col," which reminds us that the earth is much older and stronger than we are and will certainly outlast us. [The South Col is the approach by climbers to the peak of Mt. Everest from Nepal.] Other songs are strong and fierce like "Century Eyes."

The album's themes also warns about man's damage to the environment and to its other inhabitants. "Rooks" attracts with its beautiful melody and at the same time repells with its image of dead birds gathered and "burned in a "feathering pyre." I'm sure it's intentional that many of the animals referenced in the lyrics and in drawings on the lyric sheets are mythical, endangered, or extinct.

"Century Eyes," scolds us:

"You were not the first to arrive,
and will not be the last to survive,
as the pigs and the oxen we bound to the wheel
tear it off, tear it off!"

Another song I like very much is "The Snow Leopard." Its piano chords and dramatic progression are somewhat reminiscent of Radiohead's "Pyramid Song" from Amnesiac and just as powerful. Overall, as I keep listening to this album I am more and more captivated by both its beauty and theme.

The basic CD ends with "The Hunter's Star." Will the earth survive only as a place without living creatures?

"No child at all would wake to the light
of a sun that is reddening like a robin's breast,
and no lioness boards a last, great hull
on the waves that close on a world
that will never return again
and no sound escapes from the night to come."

This leaves you hungering for more, so do your ears the favor of buying from iTunes, where two bonus tracks are included: the banjo-inflected "North Col" and the somber "So Bad." You can't go wrong here. I can't recommend this album highly enough.

The lyrics to "North Col" further remind us that we have no right to insist that our existence is more important than that of other creatures, and that we are running out of time to save them from extinction.

"...a fierce little wren was singing loud, and high
while his eyes, insisting on their own life,
gave legs to the lie
that there was world and time to grow old in its light."

The Hunter's Star from Rook (2008)
My Only Boy from Palo Santo (Extended version) (2006)
Hail Mary from Daytrotter Sessions (2006)

Watch this video of "Rooks" live at SXSW 2008

Shearwater are: Jonathan Meiburg, Thor Harris (drums), Kimberly Burke, and Howard Draper.

Website | Label: Matador Records | Lyrics pdf
Buy at Matador Store, iTunes, and eMusic