The Seventies Are The New Twenties!

Terry Allen - China Night (1985)

Shearwater would make sense flowing naturally from the rusty spigots of the north woods, much like rugged natural beauty seems to flow from the pipes of Jonathan Meiburg on the new release "Palo Santo". His quiet ramblings seem to sit contently on the grass whilst banjo-picked rocks are thrown melodically into a bumbling percussive river and an occasional falsetto swoops down to join the call and response. The subtle Okkervil River overlap is comforting, but not threatening because the group is able to retain an assured confidence in its ability to just be. Each progressive track manages to cast the scene in a slightly different light as sun makes its way over the tops of the trees... sometimes illuminating a majestic piano and others the motivating discomfort of an electric guitar. At the end of the trip, the adventurousness of "Palo Santo" is rivaled only by its consistency as a solid piece of new country-twanged indie rock. And the band's success only by my talent for dragging on extended metaphors.

Shearwater - Seventy-four Seventy-five (mp3) [myspace]