Covers albums generally aren't considered the height of artistic achievement. While there certainly have been covers that gain more traction and popularity than their source songs (from Aretha Franklin's "Respect" to Hendrix's "All Along the Watchtower"), the idea of a "covers album" more often than not suggests a cop-out. Though the Beatles and the Stones might have started out playing mainly covers, the bands were still learning and honing their craft. More established musicians (take Rod Stewart for instance) might get away with reaching back into the past for entire records worth of inspiration, but there still lingers a sense that the artists have lost creative steam.
Austin, TX's Shearwater, fronted by Okkervil River alumni Jonathan Meiburg, seems to completely sidestep any of the preceding concerns. Reaching to frame their cover album as an organic-sounding, unified work, Shearwater genuinely claim the songs they steal as their own sonic property. All of the tracks performed are significantly re-shaped into fluid "Shearwater songs."
Though it might superficially seem that Shearwater's absorption of the music of others is semi-parasitic, Fellow Travelers is ultimately an innovative tribute to those who have shared the road with the band. Each of the chosen covers can be traced back to acts that Shearwater has either opened for (see Coldplay) or headlined with. The Austinites even throw in a fresh duet with Sharon Van Etten for good measure, again re-considering the idea of "fellow travelers."
Fellow Travelers might not rise above its "cover album" status, but it does wear the stigmatized badge with charming pride. It's a joy to revisit the songwriting of underrated musicians like Xiu Xiu and The Folk Implosion, to witness how solidly structured their work is regardless of who is singing. But perhaps more original gems from Shearwater would have been more welcome?
Grade: B
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