Followers of Jonathan Meiburg’s career to this point can certainly attest to his knack for theatrics, from his work in the Austin, Texas folk-rock group Okkervil River to his latest release, The Golden Archipelago, which is the most recent in a series of concept albums by his Shearwater project. Although, with Meiburg’s official departure from Okkervil River as of a couple years ago to focus 100% on Shearwater, project is no longer an appropriate descriptor for the band. Initially founded in 2001 along with his Okkervil River co-founder, Will Sheff, as an avenue for the pair to create quieter songs with increased instrumentation, Shearwater became more and more Meiburg’s baby as years went on. It all came together in 2008 with the band’s breakout album, Rook, an epic masterpiece that placed the group on the same pedestal as their sister band and emphasized Meiburg’s flare for grandiosity in his tunes maybe even Okkervil River couldn’t match.
The Golden Archipelago continues on the theme of man’s impact and ongoing relationship with this earth that was prevalent in the groups previous two albums, this time focusing on island life, something Meiburg can draw influence from considering his experience taking part in a travel fellowship shortly after his undergraduate days that sent him to numerous islands across the globe to study remote cultures and communities. Meiburg has a graduate degree in geology specializing in ornithology (hence the band name), so there’s no surprise his music features such an ethereal feel and contains so much imagery of the natural world. His education certainly plays a part in the intelligence of the music and Meiburg does admit he worries “that people think they’re getting a dissertation instead of just a record.” To which I respond: Why can’t it be both? However, that’s not to say the music can’t stand on it’s own, because it most certainly does, but it’s nice to have some muscle backing it up when the listener wants to delve a little deeper.
Musically, The Golden Archipelago still contains the bombast and triumph that Rook perfected so well, but doesn’t quite match the abundance of climactic moments found throughout Rook. The grandiose is sustained more throughout the songs of TGA rather than the building crescendos leading into crashes of grandeur that characterized it’s predecessor. It only hurts the music in that the songs aren’t quite as memorable as songs past, and don’t contain the amount of immediate hooks to grasp the listener. There are moments of that in The Golden Archipelago, such as songs “Black Eyes” and the excellent “Castaways” (which I wish was longer…only complaint), but for the most part, the songs create a more atmospheric feel, which is just as good, but maybe not as instantly accessible to the casual listener. So in the end, The Golden Archipelago doesn’t have as many standout tracks as Rook, but might actually work better as a complete album. The musicianship, especially from percussionist Thor Harris (and yes, he looks just like you would picture a Thor to look like), and Meiburg’s soaring vocals create another gorgeous and epic listen that rewards anyone willing to travel along with Meiburg on his ambitious journey.
[“Castaways” – The Golden Archipelago]
Posted by Hawkins 
A Round of Sound 