Sean Rowe’s ANTI- debut, Magic, turned a lot of heads, as press and fans discovered a distinctive new singer-songwriter. That album, recorded by Rowe himself and rereleased by ANTI-, served as a great introduction to his talents, but now on The Salesman and the Shark, with full recording budget and time to hone his craft, Rowe has delivered the album he has always envisioned. With ambitious arrangements – check out how the thundering churn of “Horses” neatly channels Desire-era Dylan – and beautiful songwriting – the duet “Old Shoes” finds Rowe harmonizing with Inara George over an almost unbearably lovely melody – The Salesman and the Shark will establish Rowe as an artist to be reckoned with.
At its centre is Rowe’s astonishing voice, the instrument that has already earned him comparisons to masters from Van Morrison to Leonard Cohen. The Salesman and the Shark is an album made the old way, with a range of writing styles that showcase Rowe’s intensely spiritual interaction with the modern world, and is sure to seal his reputation as a singer and writer for his generation.