New Shearwater Album and Tour Dates

I just peed my pants.

There's a new Shearwater album coming out in February of next year.

The press release is below and there's a spiel by Gerard Cosloy afterwards.

I talked to him on the phone once when he was at Homestead Records.

He was a real asshole to me and I've held a gruge ever since.

The following was written by Sub Pop:

Shearwater Announces New Record Animal Joy
Out February 14, 2012 On Sub Pop Records


On February 14, 2012 Shearwater will release their Sub Pop debut Animal Joy. The band will embark on a 13 date North American tour opening for Sharon Van Etten beginning on February 2nd.

See below for a full list of dates and more information on the bands upcoming release.

Shearwater Tour Dates with Sharon Van Etten:

2/10/2012 Philadelphia PA Johnny Brenda's
2/11/2012 Washington DC Black Cat
2/12/2012 Carrboro NC Cat's Cradle
2/14/2012 Columbus OH Wexner Center
2/15/2012 Newport KY The Southgate House
2/16/2012 Chicago IL Lincoln Hall
2/17/2012 Chicago IL Lincoln Hall
2/18/2012 Minneapolis MN Cedar Cultural Centre
2/21/2012 Toronto ON Lee's Palace
2/22/2012 Montreal QC Il Motore
2/23/2012 Boston MA Paradise
2/24/2012 Brooklyn NY Music Hall of Williamsburg
2/25/2012 New York NY Bowery Ballroom


About Shearwater:

It's been suggested—by fans, detractors, even by the band's founder—that Shearwater and whatever we call underground/indie/whatever-rock in this part of the century are not an obvious fit. And that's true. So much of what we hear these days (the lousy stuff, anyway) is willfully insular; Jonathan Meiburg's songs, by contrast, have constantly tackled bigger questions and been propelled by massive musical ambitions.

We're in an era in which minimalism and lower-than-low-tech have come in vogue. By contrast, Shearwater's recordings—the epic “Island Arc” trilogy of Palo Santo, Rook and The Golden Archipelago in particular—have been expansive (some might say bombastic) in a fashion like none of their contemporaries. Meiburg—presumably unfamiliar with the adage, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it"—has opted to ditch an approach that paid huge artistic dividends over his last three Matador albums for a record that seems shockingly direct, immediate and intensely personal. He's no stranger to lush, crafted recordings, but this one sounds like no prior Shearwater incarnation. And please, don't mistake that for a suggestion this is anyone's notion of a traditional, singer-songwriter album. "Immaculate" and "Breaking the Yearlings" are inventive and confident in a manner that would humble most new artists, let alone Shearwater's few veteran peers. "Insolence" is (take your pick) an unsparing bit of self-reflection or an evisceration of someone else; either way, the song covers a staggering amount of sonic territory in the space of six minutes plus. No disrespect whatsoever is intended to Meiburg's sometimes-Austin neighbors Spoon when I call "Believing Makes It Easy" a song that would rank amongst that band's finest had they come up with it instead.

Though it's possibly a wild projection to claim a few years of bouncing through various band lineups, record labels and places of residence have led to a radical reboot, I'm a big believer in citing circumstantial evidence and letting the jury figure it out for themselves. Someone's bound to label this Shearwater's transitional album, but to these ears, it sounds like a thrilling artistic rebirth. Just give 'em the fucking Grammy already!

—Gerard Cosloy, Austin, TX (November 2011)

More about Animal Joy:

Animal Joy was produced and recorded by Danny Reisch in Austin, Texas, and mixed by Peter Katis (The National, Interpol, Jonsi, Frightened Rabbit) in Bridgeport, Connecticut; sessions took place through most of 2011. The album was mastered by Greg Calbi in NYC.

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. No strings or glockenspiels were touched during the making of this album.