Lush, aspiring and larger-than-life art-pop -- with the necessary grand themes to go along -- has been the acclaimed stock in trade for Shearwater, the Austin, TX band led creatively by Jonathan Meiburg (ex-Okkervill River). Over a pair of extraordinary, universally praised albums - '08's Rook, '06's Palo Santo - Meiburg and band fashion songs of epic proportions, filled with majestic sounds and insanely beautiful nuance. The music is often as challenging as it is rewarding -- as most great album are -- with Meiburg's vocals moving from fragile falsetto to ardent intensity as the music builds and recedes, from turbulence to calm, behind him. It's a rarity when music can come across as both magnificent and understated, but Shearwater often finds compelling drama in the quietest of places.

New album The Golden Archipelago (February 23, Matador) once again explores big-canvased themes, this time focusing on the idea of islands from both a natural, physical state -- and Meiburg's own globe-trotting recollections and historical studies -- along with the associated inherent isolation. Tracks such as the resplendant "Runners of the Sun", furiously detailed "Black Eyes" and achingly supple "God Made Me" all fit together like pieces of a meticulously assembled puzzle, each adding its own sophisticated segment...and an homage to the fading art-form known as the "album." Highly recommended.

Shearwater - "Castaways" (from the album The Golden Archipelago)

Shearwater - Album Sampler (of The Golden Archipelago)

Shearwater - "Black Eyes" (from the album The Golden Archipelago)