Shearwater's Snow Leopard Salvation

There's something spiritual in snow. Something about that stark whiteness, the way it tucks the world into bed, the whispery softness of it all. Mostly, it's about the solitude. You're in a field surrounded by falling snow, words die away on your lips and fall useless to the ground. You're isolated from everything. It's just you and the snow and you're the much-smaller of the two.

I feel similarly about Shearwater, a band that has taken a staggering step forward this year, first with the release of Rook (LP) and now with the supplement Snow Leopard EP. Jonathan Meiburg's vocals take on melodies that resound like hymns, the instrumentation building from literally nothing into something bigger than just a crescendo. It feels like a confession, an exorcism, and a salvation happening simultaneously. It's just me and the music and I'm the much-smaller of the two.

Listen:
North Col
Henry Lee
[from The Snow Leopard EP|buy]