Summary:The ninth full-length release for the indie rock band was produced by Danny Reisch and features contributions from such artists as Howard Draper, Jesca Hoop, Lucas Oswald, Brian Reitzell, Abram Shook, Cully Symington, and Wye Oak's Jenn Wasner.
Shearwater strikes a proper balance between anxiety and artistry on this new record, a tenuous equilibrium that the world desperately needs to find on its own at the moment.
The locals' strength remains in crafting massive soundscapes, from the onslaught of guitar and electronic quips on "Radio Silence" to the balladic stillness of "Only Child." Meiburg's agenda isn't political. It's sonic.
Sad, angry, mad, anxious, frustrated, optimistic, ironic, sarcastic... You name it, any adjective, emotion and feeling is on this album. AndSad, angry, mad, anxious, frustrated, optimistic, ironic, sarcastic... You name it, any adjective, emotion and feeling is on this album. And they are all there in the most complex and intertwined and HUMAN way. The lyrics and the sounds go hand in hand, it is just the soundtrack of... human emotions in the current world!…Expand
I’ve loved the music of Shearwater since I first heard Rook back in 2008. So in fairness, I’m not exactly a dispassionate critic. On theI’ve loved the music of Shearwater since I first heard Rook back in 2008. So in fairness, I’m not exactly a dispassionate critic. On the other hand, past glories aren’t necessarily a boon to an artist who has shifted directions this radically in the intervening years, somehow evolving from lushly orchestrated indy-folk to this latest offering of retro-electro rock. But it works, it really works; Jonathan Meiburg has managed the tricky business of creating songs which are accessible without selling his soul.
I pre-ordered, so I’ve been streaming Jet Plane and Oxbow since late December, which means the album has had some time to settle in with me. The cliché “rewards repeated listening” definitely applies here. The album succeeds by being straightforward but embellished with its detailed and layered arrangements. It’s supposed to be a protest record, but it’s not a “grab a sign, take to the streets and vote the way I tell you” protest record. It’s a “look deeply into the darkness of your own soul” protest record. You don’t have one of those already? Well, here you go.
The melodic loveliness of the older material is still here on tracks like “Backchannels,” now paired with the rock and roll urgency of “Long Time Away,” “Radio Silence,” and the funky “Filaments.” You can sense the astral presence of Byrne and Eno in “Filaments,” but I love that stuff, so sue me. If anything, there’s a little too much Springsteen in “Radio Silence,” but it completely redeems itself at the sudden kick at “in disarray.” Like novels, I prefer songs where I can’t guess the ending.
The music is graced with lyrics that are nuanced and thoughtful. “The night is here/But still is spinning out stars in its wake” (gives me chills); “a dirty old town that some killing made holy” (At last! Somebody had the guts to say it!) The most obviously political song is “Quiet Americans,” but you should watch the video: deceptively simple, it grows deeper the more you think about it – like all of the songs on this album, really.
I was on the fence about whether to rate this a 9 (because nothing in this world is perfect, and my sneaking suspicion that Meiburg can still go yet better) or a 10 (shamelessly fangirling.) But “Prime” should win an award for “Best use of dulcimer in a rock song ever,” and anyone who can pull off using the word “nacreous” in a lyric without sounding pretentious, labored or pedantic surely deserves the extra point.…Expand
I've thought every Shearwater album til now was pretty good, with some moments of greatness here and there. But this latest album is nothingI've thought every Shearwater album til now was pretty good, with some moments of greatness here and there. But this latest album is nothing but moments of greatness, definitely their best one yet. This is a band that learns, matures, and gets better and better. Best music release so far this year.…Expand
They've been throwing out hints of a heavier, more complex sound for a couple records now, with tracks like Immaculate on Animal Life, and theThey've been throwing out hints of a heavier, more complex sound for a couple records now, with tracks like Immaculate on Animal Life, and the recent covers record. That sound and direction is fully realized here. The sleepy, droney numbers from the early Palo Santo + Rook era are essentially gone, like Meiberg decided to go to the gym and get ripped, musically speaking. Great record.…Expand
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Didn't grab me on first listen but after two to three, I was hooked. This album slowly inhabits your soul and never lets go. It's psyche rock and folk that sounds European but the band is from Austin, Texas. That's two Texas bands I now like: Midlake being the first.…Expand
Jet Plane and Oxbow is a supremely layered and deceptively complex work that is completely unlike anything else in the Shearwater canon. NotJet Plane and Oxbow is a supremely layered and deceptively complex work that is completely unlike anything else in the Shearwater canon. Not only is it their loudest album, continuing the trend started by 2012's Animal Joy, but it is also the most synthetic in terms of instrumentation and probably the most hook-focused. A year ago, I would have said that Jonathan Meiburg's voice was incompatible with the kind of synth-driven 80s rock present on this record, but with the help of drummer/producer Danny Reisch and some cool vocal overdubbing, he more than pulls it off. His gorgeous and fragile falsetto is still there, but diminished somewhat and considerably less fragile.
Shearwater has a penchant for spot-on opening songs, and "Prime" is no disappointment, setting the perfect scene to launch the rest of the album. Just like Animal Life (the lead track on Animal Joy) before it, Prime starts off quiet and grows and grows until it explodes into a huge and intricate mass of sound.
Other standouts are Quiet Americans, Filaments, and Pale Kings.
The album starts to lose its cohesive feeling past Pale Kings though. Only Child is a well-written song that is brought down only by its arena-rock production (really heavy dynamic range compression). There's just not enough space for it to feel intimate and dynamic, and it's as intimate a song as is present on the album. Glass Bones, Wildlife in America, and Radio Silence are good songs on their own, but they don't flow together as much as they should.
Stray Light at Clouds Hill is really great though, and ties the album us in a big, dramatic finisher that reminds me of "Insolence" (from Animal Joy). It's dark and brooding, which is exactly what an album like this needs. It's tense and slow, yet bursting with energy just waiting to break through with power.
Overall, this is a fantastic evolution of Meiburg & Company, and surprisingly politically relevant. What does it mean to be an American in 2016?…Expand
