Shearwater ‘Animal Life’

Shearwater’s new record ‘Animal Joy’ is fast becoming one of my favourite albums of 2012 so far. It’s a majestic and grand but yet at times quite introverted record that takes you on a journey, just like the band’s excellent 2010 album ‘The Golden Archipelago’. ‘Animal Joy’ is the most accessible Shearwater’s music has ever been, but I mean this as a compliment. Because, although the production is much slicker than we’ve heard with previous Shearwater albums, the adventurous nature of their music is still in tact, and their sound still feels like it must be coming from a different world entirely, especially Jonathan Meiburg’s operatic vocals.

I honestly feel that reviewing Shearwater’s music is a bit pointless though: it’s such subjective music that is going to mean something completely different to every single person who listens to it. So instead of attempting to convey the beauty of this record, have a listen to its standout track, the opener Animal Life. I feel like Shearwater’s music has never really reached the audience that it deserves, so I highly recommend picking up this album. It’s a beauty.