My interview with Shearwater

Track-by-Track: Shearwater on “Fellow Travelers” - The Complete Interview

By Stephen Humphries

For Under the Radar magazine's Track-by-Track feature, we go in-depth with an artist about each song on their new album. This week the magazine features of Shearwater's Fellow Travelers. It's an album of cover versions of songs by bands and artists that Shearwater has toured with over the years, including St. Vincent, Coldplay, Wye Oak, and Clinic.

There's an added twist to the concept behind Fellow Travelers - Shearwater invited most of those artists to guest on the album, but not on their own songs.

 As regular readers will know, Shearwater is my favorite American band with a unique sound that emulates the spirit of late era Talk Talk without sounding like that group. Among Shearwater's fans: Robert Plant, Steven Wilson, and Marillion's Steve Hogarth.

I interviewed frontman Jonathan Meiburg about each of the songs on the band's new album of cover versions. Read the whole thing here. (But first, check out the music video for "I Luv the Valley, OH!" above.)

Shearwater fans should seek out the recent limited edition 7" single that Shearwater split with Low. Shearwater did a brooding version of Frank Ocean's "Novocane" that I can't get enough of. Low turned in a beautiful, haunted version of Rihanna's "Stay." Also a must-have: The limited edition 7" single that came as a bonus from early orders of Fellow Travelers at SubPop.com. You need to treat your ears to Shearwater's slow-creasting tsunami of a cover version of "Black River Song" by Angels of Light (Michael Gira's band outside of Swans).

Finally, here's the band's cover version of "Fucked Up Life" from Fellow Travelers.

Few things in life are free, except new songs

It's the new music-business model -- call it a half-Radiohead -- give away the first single from your new album as a taste of what to expect. For Coldplay and now Keane (see below), free MP3s have been chosen to make a statement, namely, "our new stuff is adventurous rather than the same 'ole, same 'ole."

Herewith, pointers to a few fresh freebies out there.

Marillion
The brand new single by Marillion, one of my fave bands, is so catchy that you'll need a lobotomy to dislodge it from your head. Visit this site to download "Whatever is Wrong With You" (download is at the bottom right-hand side of the page -- no information or email address needed). It's the lead-off single from October's double album, "Happiness is the Road."

Coldplay
Visit Coldplay.com for a free download of "Death Will Never Conquer," a jaunty acoustic ditty sung by drummer Will Champion, doing his best Chris Martin impression. The song has been a staple of the band's acoustic set on tour.

Richard Barbieri
Porcupine Tree keyboard player Richard Barbieri has a new solo album, "Stranger Inside," coming out Sept. 30. The musician, a former cohort of bassist Mick Karn and David Sylvian in the new wave art-rock band Japan, is making an excellent 8-minute track titled "Hypnotek" available to those who sign up to receive more information here. Richard's previous solo album, "Things Buried," is an electronica album that feels more organic than synthetic and it'll take you places you don't normally visit with a pair of headphones.

Keane
The British trio, renowned for their clean-lines of piano pop. take a left swerve on "Spiralling." Available for free until 11 a.m. on Monday August 11 at keanemusic.com, this first single off "Perfect Symmetry" is a shot across every music critic's bow.