Say Hello To… Is Shepherd

By Stephen Noble on June 10, 2011 in Music

We came across Is Shepherd through a manner in which we ignore many a band, the good old press release. We do read them, but when you hear ‘the best new act out of such and such a place, these guys are going to be massive!!!!!!!!!’ more often than you hear your own mother’s voice, you tend to ignore them – It’s called hype for a reason.

But then Is Shepherd completely confused us with a birth certificate and a sonogram (in full below).

It was for their Ep, Songs For Sons released this week, and gave a novelty and frivolity that went with their music – an uplifting merge of sounds that can be described as “folk rock, but not really”.

Ben Trennerry, lead singer and songwriter for Is Shephard, explained that “It’s a big problem for me when people ask what type of bands we sound like or where we fit in, and I really don’t see how we do.

“Essentially I’m very, very wary of bands that sound retro, so I’ve always had this very distinct idea in my mind of the type of music I want to create. I haven’t got there yet, but I’m aiming towards it and I want to make music that’s positive, uplifting, you know.”

The Ep is a grand old mix of songs, a folk vibe you’d expect, but then with surf riff influences on Pine Box, and then heavier stuff, although ‘heavy’ in the context of folk, with vocal harmonies and a distinct melody.

“To me there’s a definite thread that runs through our music, but I suppose with only six songs for people to go off it’s quite difficult to pigeon hole us. I’m really striving to create something that I’ve never heard before.

I’m a veracious music listener and for me the drive is to really try and make something new.”

“Ultimately I’m a musician and a songwriter and music is it’s own reward, which is such a cliched thing to say but I absolutely believe that, I really do.

“I understand that it’s not an easy record to listen to, and it probably is one of those records that you’ll have to listen to a couple of times from start to finish but that’s intentional, I love albums which start and then take you on a journey.”