Iconic art-pop singer Laurie Anderson has joined indie rock band Shearwater for a brand new track, “You And Your Dog.” It’s the closing song and the final single ahead of Shearwater’s forthcoming album The New World, set to release this Friday (July 31st). This marks the first time Anderson has collaborated with Shearwater.
The seven-minute “You And Your Dog” starts with about a minute and a half of a floaty, peaceful piano and clarinet before Anderson’s voice, equally as lulling and serene as the backing melody, comes in. The track is a story, told in Anderson’s voice, about a pair walking down the beach with their dog, as the speaker observes the scenery and reflects on their connection with each other. Both the story and the accompanying lyric video seem entrenched in nature, both landscapes and natural disasters. The final lines of “I wish I’d paid more attention/I thought those days were going to go on/Forever,” transition the track from a meditative calm to a haunting narrative that will stick in your mind after you listen.
“Laurie’s been a friend and hero of ours for a long time, and when I wrote this story, it was easy to imagine in her voice,” Jonathan Meiburg, lead singer and songwriter for Shearwater, said. “I was thrilled when she agreed to perform it.”
Anderson released her first album in six years in 2024, titled Amelia, inspired by Amelia Earhart, her flight and the pilot diaries she left behind. That project features notable tracks of hers, including “India And On Down to Australia” and “Road to Mandalay.”
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