Shearwater - Animal Joy

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3...according to our Business Lady on Thu 23 Feb, 2012.

Sub Pop will literally sign anyone nowadays...I'm not kidding. I don't understand when independent pop music got so...average. There's nothing wrong with Shearwater. They write powerful, well arranged, ambitious indie-pop with driving production and big, big songs. It's the kind of thing that will translate excellently to the festival circuit and the radio waves and yet it leaves me feeling utterly cold. Production plays a massive role in the dynamic of the band with beats being of particular interest. On 'Breaking The Yearlings' for example the drums are so blown out that they give the track a strangely menacing feel. How they'll emulate this sound on stage is beyond me but it certainly brings a lot of character to the tune. Elsewhere Jonathan Meiburg croons his way through eleven approachable yet ultimately underwhelming numbers. I don't really listen to stuff like this so comparisons are difficult to pinpoint but if you like your indie-pop bold, slickly produced and Coldplay tour support-ready then you need look no further.

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• Principal players were Jonathan Meiburg (vocals, guitar, and piano), Kimberly Burke (upright and electric bass) and Thor Harris (drums) - all members of Shearwater since 1999 - along with guest performers Andy Stack (of Wye Oak) on guitar, keyboard, and saxophone, Scott Brackett on keyboards, Cully Symington on additional drums, Sam Lipman on clarinet, and Elaine Barber on harp.

• ‘Animal Joy’ was recorded and produced during 2011 by Danny Reisch in Austin, Texas, and mixed by Peter Katis (The National, Interpol, Jonsi, Frightened Rabbit) in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The album was mastered by Greg Calbi in New York.

• This is Shearwater’s first release on Sub Pop Records.

• The band’s previous three records, known as the ‘Island Arc Trilogy’, were released on Matador Records.

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