Shearwater have shared the official video for “Quiet Americans”, the lead single from Jet Plane and Oxbow, (out tomorrow)! The intense visual stars frontman Jonathan Meiburg and was directed by Alex Rapine.
 
Stereogum had this to say about the video, “Channeling albums like David Bowie’s Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps) and the Talking Heads’ Remain In Light, the band’s lead singer and songwriter Jonathan Meiburg has used this new record to add some polished experimentation and drama to the band’s ever-evolving sound. Director Alex Rapine’s video matches that aesthetic shift with a sleek, dark color palette, flickering lights, and a besuited Meiburg showing off his best evil grin (see premiere January 21st).”

Shearwater’s Jet Plane and Oxbow is earning the group some of its best reviews to date, from outlets on both sides of the Atlantic. Highlights include:
 
NPR Music: “Fussed-over sounds abound — one track finds room for both synthesizer and dulcimer — which helps render Meiburg’s songs both unsettling and majestic. The terrific “Quiet Americans” checks many of the band’s boxes right away, as the synths peal through static, while Meiburg’s vocals bark, swoop, soar and swoon in tune with the moment. From there, the palette expands and contracts to include booming, stadium-sized urgency (“A Long Time Away”); a persistently rumbling, exploratory epic worthy of Wilco (“Filaments”); and a ballad that sneaks in some of Meiburg’s favorite themes (“Wildlife In America”). Of course, that big, elastic voice remains at the center of these songs, but so too does a mandate to fill the surrounding air with big, bold ideas.”
 
MOJO: “A defiant moody exploration of the magic and menace of technology.” [4/5]  
 
Uncut: “Meiburg’s finest album to date.” [8/10]
 
Rolling Stone: “It’s refreshing to hear them switch things up on this, their seventh full-length release, by writing more immediate pop songs without sacrificing their rich, thoughtfully placed instrumentation.”
 
Consequence of Sound: “Jet Plane and Oxbow can’t be locked into a single place or time, instead patching together its own alternate past. They leave room for their glossy influences and the gritty present to communicate with each other, threading catchy hooks through more complex backgrounds. The prime example is “Quiet Americans”, a dark track that transforms relatively quickly into a comfortable earworm.”
 
EXCLAIM: “The sense of velocity and flight, paired with Meiburg’s dramatic vocals, delivered with Bowie-like flair here, making Jet Plane and Oxbow a natural progression for Shearwater, and a nice departure from their typical offerings.”
 
PopMatters: “Jet Plane and Oxbow is a remarkably polished, alluring, and dignified accomplishment.” [8/10]
 
The Skinny: “The band’s punchiest and most populist work to date.” [4/5]
 

Shearwater’s 2016 North American and European tour schedule in support of Jet Plane and Oxbow begins February 3rd in Austin, TX at North Door and currently ends March 26th in Portland, OR at Mississippi Studios. Main support will come from Barsuk recording artist Laura Gibson (March 16th - 19th). (see dates below)

Jet Plane and Oxbow will be available tomorrow through Sub Pop Mega Mart, iTunes, and Amazon. LP preorders though megamart.subpop.com will receive the limited “Loser” edition on blue colored vinyl (while supplies last) and there are two super sweet t-shirts for this release as well!


More about Shearwater:
This is definitely Shearwater’s biggest and loudest record—it’s easy to imagine these songs roaring from the stage—but it’s also their most detailed and intricate one. Front man Jonathan Meiburg and producer/engineer Reisch (who also recorded 2012’s Animal Joy and the off-the-cuff collaborations of 2014’s Fellow Travelers) spent two years crafting Jet Plane and Oxbow with help from drummer Cully Symington, longtime Shearwater associates Howard Draper and Lucas Oswald, and tourmates Jesca Hoop, Abram Shook, and Jenn Wasner.

But their secret weapon this time is film composer and percussionist Brian Reitzell, whose soundtracks include The Virgin Suicides, Lost in Translation, The Bling Ring, and 30 Days of Night. Reitzell’s arsenal of strange instruments emphasizes Jet Plane and Oxbow’s cinematic depth and scope, and reflects the band’s choice to anchor the record in the era when digital technology was just beginning to transform the world of recorded music. In Shearwater’s hands this doesn’t feel like nostalgia; the racing synths and hammered dulcimers of heart-pounding opener “Prime” or the addled motorik of “Radio Silence” sound more like a metaphor for our own bewildering moment (read more at Sub Pop).

Tour Dates
Feb. 03 - Austin, TX - North Door (w/ Marmalakes)    
Feb. 04 - Dallas, TX - Club Dada (w/ Marmalakes)
Feb. 06 - New York, NY - Mercury Lounge (w/ Jib Kidder)
Feb. 10 - Berlin, DE - Frannz Club
Feb. 11 - Copenhagen, DK - Loppen
Feb. 12 - Hamburg, DE -  Molotow
Feb. 13 - Amsterdam, NL - Paradiso Noord
Feb. 14 - Brussels. BE - Botanique
Feb. 16 - Lille, FR - L’Aeronef
Feb. 17 - London, UK - Islington Assembly Hall
Feb. 18 - Bristol, UK -  The Fleece
Feb. 19 - Leeds, UK - The Brudenell Social Club
Feb. 20 - Glasgow, UK - King Tuts
Feb. 21 - Newcastle, UK - The Cluny
Feb. 23 - Dublin, IE -  Button Factory
Feb. 24 - Manchester , UK - Night & Day
Feb. 25 - Brighton, UK - The Haunt
Feb. 26 - Paris, FR -  Point Ephémère
Feb. 27 - Zurich, CH - Bogen F
Feb. 28 - Fribourg, CH - Nouveau Monde
Mar. 04 - San Francisco, CA - The Independent
Mar. 05 - Los Angeles, CA - Roxy
Mar. 10 - Washington, DC  - Rock and Roll Hotel
Mar. 12 - Brooklyn, NY - Bell House
Mar. 16 - Pittsburgh, PA - Club Cafe**
Mar. 17 - Toronto, ON - Horseshoe Tavern**
Mar. 18 - Ferndale, MI - The Loving Touch**
Mar. 19 - Chicago, IL - Schubas**
Mar. 22 - Minneapolis, MN - Turf Club
Mar. 25 - Seattle, WA - The Crocodile
Mar. 26 - Portland, OR - Mississippi Studios
** w/ Laura Gibson

Find ticket links right over here.