New Release: The New World by Shearwater

The Austin collective Shearwater has always straddled the line between music and nature. That may sound like a gargantuan leap of art, but singer-songwriter Jonathan Meiburg lives comfortably in both worlds. Having published A Most Remarkable Creature: The Hidden Life of the World’s Smartest Birds of Prey, Meiburg is a passionate scientist who puts equal effort into researching birds (and the rest of the natural world) as he seemingly does his music.

The book received rave reviews, even from the likes of Margaret Atwood and Laurie Anderson, the latter adding, “I’m in love with this book. If you like great writing, strange historical twists, adventure, nature, music and/or birds, this will quickly become one of your all-time favorite books.” Maybe Meiburg used this connection to persuade Anderson into performing the spoken word on the final track, “You and Your Dog.” It’s a mesmerizing piece.

The New World finds Meiburg joined by longtime bandmates Emily Lee and Dan Duszynski, who assist in creating a wonderment of sounds recorded in Los Angeles, Berlin, London, Brooklyn, and Austin. Joining the trio is an assemblage of musicians from around the world, contributing harmonies of beautiful and mysterious sounds to the album. This is perhaps the band’s most ambitious work, holding its own throughout all nine tracks.

The debut single, “Daydream Unbeliever,” is an epic, sweeping piece of music, made more so by Meiburg’s video work from his recent journey to Antarctica. Watching and listening, you will be transported into the harsh conditions of that locale. The building landscape of string orchestration paired with the explosive drums underscore the majesty and dangers of the continent, and possibly at a ticking clock as we hurdle toward global warming. The video ends with the statement, “There is still a world outside.”

Meiburg’s voice is simultaneously powerful and vulnerable; the perfect complement to the music (and vice-versa). As he’s demonstrated before, his voice has a somewhat symbiotic relationship with that of David Bowie. Both singers possess a tone which is quite rare out there. “The Only Sound I’m Afraid Of” offers dreamy atmospheres and lyrics aimed at the price of settling: “And the only sound / I’m afraid of / Is coming home now / To live a long life / Of unison.” A story underscoring the fear of becoming trapped in a stagnant and suffocating monotony of a life. Meiburg clearly disavows such an existence.

For the immediately hummable “Slugs in the Marigolds,” another perfect visual storyboard was created. Once viewed, you will never hear this song again without picturing “Lil’ They” in your mind. In the video, Meiburg rescues an out-of-place slug, taking a ferry and roaming for a while. He exposes his new friend to new scenes, all while singing, “Shuffle through the day / Trying to live with people.” The singer’s care for the little guy, along with the sad-happy saxophone, sets this tune apart.

As these wonderful tracks unfold, you will hear several of Meiburg’s field recordings in the wild, across continents. So the question before us is: What is the true final frontier? Is it space or our oceans? Meiburg would argue it’s the earth’s natural world – more succinctly, Kingdom Animalia. As he continues to study this ever evolving phenomenon (and frequently putting his discovered thoughts to music), fans are the beneficiaries.

The New World is an intelligent and emotional care package for listeners. Shearwater invite you to enter a world of discovery and understanding; a world where music fuses with science. Meiburg recently shared, “I used to worry about keeping those worlds separate, but now it all feels like one big project.”

Visit Shearwater’s website for more information and catch them on tour if you can.