Shearwater, London Scala

Shearwater

February 25, 2010

The Scala is almost its own death knell for anyone fortunate enough to have seen Shearwater play the Union Chapel in ’09, where the fluidity and sky-scraping power of their repertoire peaked in a setting so perfect it was as if custom-tailored. The audience sat on pews like a dedicated congregation, the stage spot-lit to maximum effect with every movement and sound microscopically audible.

That this pre-emptive warning sign capitulates is not devastating, just a matter of inevitability. Jonathan Meiburg and his comrades turn in a stunning show, but it fails to reach the chilling heights of their show previewing new album The Golden Archipelago last year. The majesty of their sound is clear, but the ordering lacks structure meaning that the piercing vocals lack cogency. The strength of ‘Seventy-Four Seventy-Five’ outside of its natural context on Palo Santo makes it feel bleak and hard-hitting, lacking the glow and grace normally accompanying it. With the release of more Shearwater material comes the realisation that they are masters of album-ordering; LPs are to be devoured in their entirety, as they offset each weighty build with a retreat.

Fragility and a touchable exploration of beauty fill the Scala, ‘Meridian’ being received to whoops and cheers as the drums crash on the ocean of reverb, and as ever; ‘Rook’ pushes relentlessly forward with its intense, rocking guitars. Guitars swell on set-highlight ‘Leviathan, Bound’ and their instrument-swapping impresses as ever, but the ominous feel of the playing never quite hits the grand crash it’s seemingly striding towards. Shearwater are a marvellous entity, make no mistake, but it’s either unfortunate that their show last year peaked so high or fortunate that I was there to see it.

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