SHEARWATER

Crossover Prog • United States

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Shearwater biography
Shearwater are an American art rock band from Austin, Texas, founded in 1999 as the side project of Okkervil River members Will Sheff (vocals/guitars) and Jonathan Meiburg (vocals/guitars/keyboards). A showcase for more subdued material deemed unfit for their flagship band, Shearwater's sound sits at the crossroads of atmospheric progressive rock, ethereal post-rock and Americana folk, taking its name from a type of seabird thanks to ornithologist and author Meiburg.

Based in Hamburg, Germany as of this writing, Meiburg has been the steady core of the band since 2005, collaborating with a revolving door of musicians. Meiburg's dynamic voice is evocative of Jeff Buckley, John Cale and especially Mark Hollis, a particularly apropos comparison considering how late Talk Talk's shadow hangs over Shearwater's discography (with the band known for covering "The Rainbow" live). A declared prog enthusiast who sees himself as part of the continuum begun by Genesis, Yes, Van der Graaf Generator, King Crimson and Pink Floyd (especially The Final Cut), Meiburg was introduced to Talk Talk's Laughing Stock through drummer Thor Harris, the future percussionist for Swans and Water Damage.

From 2001 to 2004, Shearwater released three full-lengths and a split with Okkervil River, performing downcast indie folk in the vein of Uncle Tupelo, Vic Chesnutt and Belle & Sebastian, each defined by the contrasting songwriting styles of Meiburg and Sheff. While only hinted in their earlier work, Shearwater's prog and post-rock tendencies fully bloomed by 2006's Palo Santo, a semi-concept album about the life and death of Nico and the first to be written and sung entirely by Meiburg. With Sheff amicably returning to Okkervil River the year prior, Shearwater effectively became Meiburg's project; Palo Santo signalled the beginning of their "Island Arc" trilogy which later included 2008's Rook and 2010's The Golden Archipelago, wherein the band's progressive, orchestral ambitions reached their apex. Inspired by Meiburg's visits to the Falkland Islands studying birds and isolated human communities, Rook and The Golden Archipelago are also loose concept records meditating on capitalism's impact with the natural world and the displacement and erasure of indigenous island cultures. Long-time members Harris and bassist Kimberly Burke (Meiburg's ex-wife) helped shape the trilogy, along with the Jag-Wires' Kevin Schneider, Little Grizzly's Howard Draper and Hospital Ships' Jordan Ge...Shearwater are an American art rock band from Austin, Texas, founded in 1999 as the side project of Okkervil River members Will Sheff (vocals/guitars) and Jonathan Meiburg (vocals/guitars/keyboards). A showcase for more subdued material deemed unfit for their flagship band, Shearwater's sound sits at the crossroads of atmospheric progressive rock, ethereal post-rock and Americana folk, taking its name from a type of seabird thanks to ornithologist and author Meiburg.

Based in Hamburg, Germany as of this writing, Meiburg has been the steady core of the band since 2005, collaborating with a revolving door of musicians. Meiburg's dynamic voice is evocative of Jeff Buckley, John Cale and especially Mark Hollis, a particularly apropos comparison considering how late Talk Talk's shadow hangs over Shearwater's discography (with the band known for covering "The Rainbow" live). A declared prog enthusiast who sees himself as part of the continuum begun by Genesis, Yes, Van der Graaf Generator, King Crimson and Pink Floyd (especially The Final Cut), Meiburg was introduced to Talk Talk's Laughing Stock through drummer Thor Harris, the future percussionist for Swans and Water Damage.

From 2001 to 2004, Shearwater released three full-lengths and a split with Okkervil River, performing downcast indie folk in the vein of Uncle Tupelo, Vic Chesnutt and Belle & Sebastian, each defined by the contrasting songwriting styles of Meiburg and Sheff. While only hinted in their earlier work, Shearwater's prog and post-rock tendencies fully bloomed by 2006's Palo Santo, a semi-concept album about the life and death of Nico and the first to be written and sung entirely by Meiburg. With Sheff amicably returning to Okkervil River the year prior, Shearwater effectively became Meiburg's project; Palo Santo signalled the beginning of their "Island Arc" trilogy which later included 2008's Rook and 2010's The Golden Archipelago, wherein the band's progressive, orchestral ambitions reached their apex. Inspired by Meiburg's visits to the Falkland Islands studying birds and isolated human communities, Rook and The Golden Archipelago are also loose concept records meditating on capitalism's impact with the natural world and the displacement and erasure of indigenous island cultures. Long-time members Harris and bassist Kimberly Burke (Meiburg's ex-wife) helped shape the trilogy, along with the Jag-Wires' Kevin Schneider, Little Grizzly's Howard Draper and Hospital Ships' Jordan Geiger, who came and went.

In the wake of a January 2011 hometown show at which Shearwater performed the complete Island Arc, Meiburg took a more anthemic-rock direction with 2012's Animal Joy, the last LP to feature Harris and Burke. 2013's Fellow Travelers was a more straightforward folk affair, a covers album paying tribute to artists with whom Shearwater toured like Clinic, St. Vincent, Xiu Xiu, Wye Oak and Coldplay. A self-described "oblique protest record" responding to the rise of Donald Trump, 2016's Jet Plane and Oxbow was a pivot to synthy post-punk reflecting inspiration from Peter Gabriel, Brian Eno and David Byrne, Laurie Anderson and David Bowie's Scary Monsters. The latter's influence proved to be enduring: on the 2016 tour, Shearwater moved from playing songs from 1979's Lodger during encores to performing the entire album a handful of dates, later tackling the entire Berlin Trilogy live during a special three-night run in New York City late 2018 (assisted by Xiu Xiu's Jamie Stewart and Deerhoof's Ed Rodriguez, among others).

Burnt out from the last album, Meiburg put Shearwater on the backburner in favour of his ambient art-pop trio Loma, formed in 2016 with his friends Emily Cross and Dan Duszynski of like-minded Texan band Cross Record. Loma released three albums from 2018 to 2024, the middle of which featuring a guest appearance from noted fan Brian Eno on the track "Homing." During the lockdown days of 2020's global coronavirus crisis, Meiburg resuscitated Shearwater to write their tenth studio album, and dabbled in progressive electronic for a series of eight instrumental ambient pieces the band dubbed Quarantine Music. Having once been on labels like Misra, Matador and Sub Pop during their ascension, Shearwater resorted to crowdfunding to finance the resulting LP, 2022's The Great Awakening, independently released via the band's own Polyborus label. The album was a return to the more progressive approach of Shearwater's 2006-2010 peak, with Meiburg joined by Duszynski, keyboardist Emily Lee and drummer Josh Halpern.

Shearwater's work has earned them fans from prog titans Steve Hogarth, John Wesley and Steven Wilson, the latter perhaps their biggest supporter of all, listing The Golden Archipelago as his number one favourite album of 2010 and enlisting them to remix his track "Fitness Tracker" in 2020. Outside of Talk Talk, Shearwater will appeal to listeners of Midlake, David Sylvian, Held by Trees, the Decemberists and Elbow.

- Gordy, May 2025read more