The Golden Archipelago is the sixth studio album by American indie rock

Indie rock

Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...

 band Shearwater

Shearwater (band)

Shearwater is an American indie rock band formed in Austin, Texas in 1999 by Okkervil River members Jonathan Meiburg and Will Sheff, although Sheff is no longer with Shearwater.-History:...

. It was released on February 23, 2010, on the Matador Records

Matador Records

Matador Records is an independent record label, with a roster of indie rock artists and bands.-History:Matador was started by Chris Lombardi in 1989 in his New York City apartment. The following year, Lombardi was joined by former Homestead Records manager Gerard Cosloy, and the two of them have...

 label. The track "Black Eyes" is the first single from the album.

Shearwater released the album on both CD and vinyl

Gramophone record

A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...

. The first pressing of the CD includes a 50-page booklet with lyrics, as well as collected photographs from the "Golden Dossier," featuring images, maps and texts of island exploration themes.

Reception

The album has so far received moderately positive reviews, garnering an aggregate score of 74 out of 100 on Metacritic

Metacritic

Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...

, based on 23 reviews. Some critics noted its softer sound, compared to the grandeur of previous albums like Rook

Rook (album)

Rook is the fifth studio album by American indie rock band Shearwater. It was released on June 3, 2008, on the Matador Records label. The track "Rooks" was the first single from the album. The album was previewed on May 5, 2008 and May 29, 2008, at two special concerts in Manhattan and Austin,...

 and Palo Santo

Palo Santo

Palo Santo is Shearwater's fourth full-length album, released on May 9, 2006, on Misra Records. The album was re-released in an expanded, partly re-recorded, fully remastered and repackaged edition on April 10, 2007, on the label Matador Records....

. Allmusic compared it to 1970s Peter Gabriel

Peter Gabriel

Peter Brian Gabriel is an English singer, musician, and songwriter who rose to fame as the lead vocalist and flautist of the progressive rock group Genesis. After leaving Genesis, Gabriel went on to a successful solo career...

 and Pink Floyd

Pink Floyd

Pink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved worldwide success with their progressive and psychedelic rock music. Their work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Pink Floyd are one of the most commercially...

's The Final Cut

The Final Cut

The Final Cut may refer to:*The Final Cut , a 1983 album by Pink Floyd*"The Final Cut" , a song by Pink Floyd*The Final Cut , a 1983 "video EP" by Pink Floyd*The Final Cut , an industrial music group...

, saying it lacked many of Rooks "more muscular moments."

Music critics also lauded Shearwater's commitment to the album format in the age of MP3

MP3

MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...

s, making a cohesive, conceptual work of progressive rock, rather than simply a collection of singles.

Track listing

1. "Meridian" – 3:37
2. "Black Eyes" – 3:40
3. "Landscape at Speed" – 4:33
4. "Hidden Lakes" – 3:47
5. "Corridors" – 2:46
6. "God Made Me" – 4:23
7. "Runners of the Sun" – 2:53
8. "Castaways" – 3:16
9. "An Insular Life" – 3:09
10. "Uniforms" – 3:49
11. "Missing Islands" – 2:18