Shearwater: Fellow Travelers

Fellow Travelers
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Artist: Shearwater
Genre: Pop
Label: Sub Pop

This charming covers album surveys artists with whom Shearwater have toured over the years and were invited to play here, though not on their own songs. Shearwater lead singer Jonathan Meiburg says this is his favourite band album to date, and it is easy to see why: it's a love letter to touring, which Meiburg calls "an expression of faith – in yourself, in your friends". Xiu Xiu's I Luv the Valley, OH! becomes a rock-fuelled anthem. The Baptist Generals rework Clinic's Tomorrow into a layered, meditative composition. Clinic return the favour by turning Fucked Up Life into a drum-heavy gem with trademark organ. Wye Oak and Sharon Van Etten provide direct renderings of Folk Implosion's Natural One and A Wake for the Minotaur. And David Thomas Broughton's Ambiguity is delicate and nuanced, more concerned with the "inbetweenness of things". Much like this diverting record.
Download: Fucked Up Life, Ambiguity

Siobhán Kane

Siobhán Kane is a contributor to The Irish Times specialising in culture