Shearwater are releasing their sixth album, The Golden Archipelago, on February 23rd through Matador; their third on the label. The album is intended to focus on life on an island, as illustrated by the beautiful artwork. Jonathan Meiburg and co. sure know how to motivate fans to actually purchase the physical album. With the purchase of The Golden Archipelago, you will receive a 50 page book of photos and images as collected by Meiburg. Also, the LP will contain 2 bonus tracks and a download coupon for the MP3 version of the album, including a PDF of the book. Supposedly, hardcore fans will actually be able to purchase a deluxe version with a full color 73 page dossier in a special envelope; details to be announced soon.

There are undoubtedly reasons to pre-order The Golden Archipelago as early buyers will receive a 15% discount. Not only that, but LP pre-orders will receive a copy of the CD sized book.

You can download the first single, ‘Castaways’ in high quality here.
MP3 Shearwater – Castaways (256k MP3 + Single Artwork)”
FLAC Shearwater – Castaways (FLAC + Single Artwork)”

The Golden Archipelago

01 Meridian
02 Black Eyes
03 Landscape at Speed
04 Hidden Lakes
05 Corridors
06 God Made Me
07 Runners of the Sun
08 Castaways
09 An Insular Life
10 Uniforms
11 Missing Islands

If that wasn’t enough, Shearwater have announced European tour dates. US spring dates are soon to come.

17 Feb: Melkweg – Amsterdam (NL)
18 Feb: Botanique – Brussel (B)
19 Feb: Le Nouveau Casino – Paris (F)
20 Feb: La Route du Rock winter edition @ L’Omnibus – Saint-Malô (F)
21 Feb: The Freebutt – Brighton (UK)
22 Feb: The Brudenell Social Club – Leeds (UK)
23 Feb: Captains Rest – Glasgow (UK)
25 Feb: Scala – London (UK)
26 Feb: 4AD – Diksmuide (B)
27 Feb: Knust – Hamburg (D)
28 Feb: Magnet club – Berlin (D)

2 Mar: Rote Sonne – Munich (D)
3 Mar: L’Usine (PTR) – Geneva (CH)
4 Mar: Nouveau Monde – Fribourg (CH)
5 Mar: La Casa 139 – Milan (I)