Musicians:

Making the world a better place since forever.

Shearwater at The Haunt (a bit of a dive) in Brighton. Unexpectedly great. They're good musicians and the lead singer's (Jonathan Meiburg) voice has a quality that just works for me, plus they love what they do and they do it so well.

Their last album was a selection of covers from bands they've supported in the past. One track was Ambiguity, by David Thomas Broughton. After touring, Broughton went off to live in North Korea for a couple of years - there's a story that needs telling - and corresponded with Meiburg via email. Broughton sent Meiburg a recording of Korean sparrows he'd made so, when the band chose to cover Ambiguity, Meiburg went to The Falkland Islands and recorded 'the sound of birds and of water flowing over rocks' to include on the recording in return. That there is a whole new level of commitment to your art.

My favourite Shearwater song is You As You Were, introduced as a song about 'losing your way in life and realising being lost is just fine.' Amen to that.