Rook (Bonus Track Version)

The nautically themed “On The Death of the Waters” is a perfect example of Shearwater’s otherworldly ability to paint vivid imagery with their music. Its gentle beginning floats like a boat on the calm of the sea before a stormy wave of guitar wash comes crashing down on the bow midway through. Throughout Sherwater’s fifth studio album, Jonathan Meiburg’s alabaster smooth vocals sound as elegant as Jeff Buckley's and androgynous, like Antony Hegarty from Antony & The Johnsons. Much of Rook thrives on the use of more unconventional instruments like harp, glockenspiel, woodwinds, banjo, vibraphone, and hammer dulcimer, and the title track boasts an overdub of a backwards played piano. Conversely, “Century Eyes” moves with the kind of angular, guitar-driven indie rock that you’d expect to hear from the B-side of a crackling seven- inch vinyl. The two bonus tracks were pulled from Shearwater’s Snow Leopard EP. At just over two minutes “North Col” is the standout as Meiburg (a practicing ornithologist) muses on birds with banjo, acoustic bass and his epicene croons.