Ah, The Falklands. The war that Margaret Thatcher used to bolster flagging popularity at home. After the ruling Argentina military junta had invaded the Falklands to deflect attention away from domestic economic problems.

Well, no, actually. For the second album from Texan indie experimentalists Shearwater, frontman Jonathan Meiberg was inspired by the Islands themselves. Or in particular, their rarest residents: the Striated Caracaras (Johnny Rooks), some kind of weird crow-falcon hybrid who have been known to scoop out sheep’s eyes in order to kill them.

The result is one of the most beautiful records you’re liable to hear all year. Meiburg may well be a graduate student in ornithology, with Shearwater the name of a seabird. But he’s already a first-class singer-songwriter.

(4½/5)