Shearwater have released “Light Governance”, a Bandcamp-exclusive track that offers the first glimpse of New World Vultures, the companion project the band is preparing for 2027 around the world of The New World.
The idea behind that forthcoming release is revealing in itself. Jonathan Meiburg has explained that, during sessions that began four years ago, the band gradually imagined two different records: one intended for public release, and another where they could follow any song without worrying too much about where it belonged.
The public record and the private one
That makes New World Vultures more interesting than a conventional collection of leftovers. The split between a “public” album and a “private” one points to two different working methods: one focused on shaping a finished statement, the other willing to let songs move at their own pace.
“Light Governance” is presented as an example of that second space. Meiburg places much of this material in late-night sessions and frames it as music made with less supervision around it. Without turning the studio story into a grand manifesto, it gives the companion project a clear identity of its own.
A return to the stage as well
The release also arrives as Shearwater return to live performance. The band will share an 18-date European co-headline tour with Loma, made possible through a crowdfunding campaign that passed its original $62,000 target and reached more than $74,000.
It will be the first time the two related projects have toured together, and it marks Shearwater’s return to a full public run after years without a tour on this scale.
Between the life of The New World, this parallel body of material and the return to the road, Shearwater seem to be stretching one creative period in several directions. “Light Governance” does not close that chapter; it opens a side door.