Shearwater
The Ruby Lounge, Manchester
24/02/2010

‘The Golden Archipelago’’s recent release to mass critical acclaim probably gave one Jonathan Meiburg some vindication for finally severing ties with long-term going concern Okkervil River. Put simply, his “side-project” Shearwater had gotten too successful for he and band mate Will Sheff to only keep one eye on; and so as Sheff returned to the flagship Okkervil, Meiburg pushed his band to its limit; and what a limit that’s turning out to be. The Texan group- tonight a five-piece- reconstruct most of their latest LP in dextrously crafted beauty, though the conciseness of each song never harms the free rushing tumult of emotion that crashes over every lyric and melody.

However, conciseness is something support act David Thomas Broughton doesn’t do. This evening, in front of an engrossed Ruby Lounge, he jerkily shifts between four or five loop-enhanced compositions, seemingly of his own whim. Broughton pours himself into every song, soaring vocals and building acoustics are at sharp odds with blunt lyrical content (could a Southerner get away with stoically delivering the line “can’t afford a pasty from Gregg’s bakery?”) Many of his meandering compositions verge on self-loathing- to the point where he encourages the on-watching Shearwater to chant “You’re a joke, you’re a joke” at him- but there’s nothing to mock about his performance tonight, it’s wonderful.

Shearwater announce their arrival with the subdued strains of ‘Meridian’, but it’s the up tempo melodramas like ‘Corridors’ and ‘Black Eyes’ that really resonate in the set- delivered with powerful purpose by a noticeably confident Meiburg in a way that marks the group out as more now than just serial-folkers. The vocalist takes the plaudits tonight, but in the versatile musicians behind him he possesses a group whose instrument-swapping and chemistry are the heart of Shearwater’s collective sound, and key to their juxtaposed moments of orchestral grandeur and delicate intimacy. 

Simon Jay Catling