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First Spin: Hear Shearwater’s Driving New Single ‘Breaking the Yearlings’

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Fans of Shearwater’s languid and proggy albums on Matador will barely recognize the group now, because somewhere on their way to new home Sub Pop, the band discovered how to rock out. Exhibit A: SPIN’s exclusive stream of the band’s new single “Breaking the Yearlings,” from their Valentine’s Day disc Animal Joy.

“Breaking the Yearlings” storms out of the gate with a stampede of galloping drums and reckless riffing, but just when the song seems like it’s going to spin off its axis, Jonathan Meiburg’s falsetto swoops down to rein it in. This is Shearwater at their grittiest. Synths wash all over the track after the opening cavalcade, but it’s every bit as expansive and rewarding as anything on The Golden Archipelago.

You can catch Meiburg and the rest of the Austin, Texas crew performing “Breaking the Yearlings” and likely other new tracks from Animal Joy as they hit the road next year for a lengthy trek. Check out the dates below:

Feb. 10 – Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Belinda’s*
Feb. 11 – Washington, DC @ Black Cat*
Feb. 12 – Carrboro, NC @ Cats Cradle*
Feb. 14 – Columbus, OH @ Wexner Center*
Feb. 15 – Grand Rapids, MI @ Ladies Literary Club*
Feb. 16 – Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall*
Feb. 17 – Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall*
Feb. 18 – Minneapolis, MN @ Cedar Cultural Centre*
Feb. 21 – Toronto, ON @ Lee’s Place*
Feb. 22 – Montreal, QC @ Il Motore*
Feb. 23 – Boston, MA @ Paradise*
Feb. 24 – Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg*
Feb. 25 – New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom*
Mar. 28 – Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Bitterzoet
Mar. 29 – Brussels, Belgium @ Botanique
Mar. 30 – Brighton, United Kingdom @ Haunt
Mar. 31 – Manchester, United Kingdom @ Deaf Institute
Apr. 1 – Glasgow, United Kingdom @ Stereo
Apr. 3 – London, United Kingdom @ Scala
Apr. 4 – Tourcoing, France @ Le Grand Mix
Apr. 5 – Paris, France @ La Maroquinerie
Apr. 6 – Düdingen, Switzerland @ Bad Bonn
Apr. 8 – Gallen, Switzerland @ Palace
Apr. 9 – Milano, Italy @ Bloom
Apr. 10 – Rome, Italy @ Circolo Degli Artisti
Apr. 11 – Ravenna, Italy @ Bronson
Apr. 12 – Lubijana, Slovenia @ Menza pri koritu
Apr. 16 – Dresden, Germany @ GrooveStation
Apr. 17 – Hamburg, Germany @ Prinzenbar
Apr. 18 – Berlin, Germany @ Comet
Apr. 19 – Istanbul, Turkey @ Babylon
Apr. 21 – Athens, Greece @ AN Club
* with Sharon Van Etten