Shearwater – “Animal Joy”
Sub Pop
-out tomorrow
4 / 5
We’re glad we caught wind of Shearwater’s latest installment of powerful, emotive songwriting. As a follow-up to The Golden Archipelago, Animal Joy is a bit rockier, a bit more straightforward (check out the drums on 2-and-4 on several tracks), and makes us a bit more wistful for the sheer gorgeousness of that last one. This feel is culminated in “Immaculate,” a song that drives too directly, is raised too much to be a ‘radio-friendly’ track. That is not the Shearwater we know. “Dread Sovereign,” “Believing Makes it Easy,” and “Insolence,” those are what Shearwater is all about; these are some of the several tracks that makes glad we caught up with this Texan band. They are masters of depth and emoting, they are a go-to band when you need a slow-burner to eclipse the sun. Of the eleven here, only 2-3 fall through the cracks; yet, we highly recommend you put your ear to this album, especially those three above, if you want songs meant to crush your gut. Did we say to pick this one up? – might as well restate that, in case you missed it: recommended.