Shearwater - Palo Santo

Something had to break my bad mood.

Shearwater. Wow.

Icy warm, a bit like The Moody Blues but with the softer side of Radiohead thrown in. Jonathan Meiburg's lyrics are gorgeous, albeit hard to hear (the one strike so far against this one is the production - the volume jumps a bit between the soft parts and the loud ones). Johnny Viola is one of the most beautiful songs I've heard all year - in, as I've said, a strong year for songs. And it's only one of the many standouts on this album, even after only a couple of listens. I haven't lived with this long, but I have a feeling it will stick. Released: May 2, 2006. A REAL FIND.

Thanks to The Rich Girls Are Weeping for the tip.

Shearwater - Johnny Viola [mp3] (thank you Baby, You Got a Stew Goin'! for the link.)