Shepherdess | Self Titled

Shepherdess is a group of Boston-based music workhorses, each with at least two other band credits to their name. The band’s sound is straight out of 1995 and I love them for that. This album sounds a lot like what the music of this last decade could have been if Emo and boy bands hadn’t happened. It is candy for twenty-somethings that remember the glory days when great music was born in garages and falling pathetically in love with attitude-laden she-rockers was a rite of passage. Almost a guilty pleasure, I find myself sneaking this album back into my stereo when I should be reviewing someone else. The production value is endearingly lo-fi (though they probably should have turned their amps back down to 10 on “Aquaplanagerie”). Fans of heavily produced pop and electronica might find this a little too bare bones, but give a listen anyway. The band is clearly having a lot of fun on this album and regardless of genre that energy is infectious. My only complaint is that the album ends too soon. With no songs hitting the four-minute mark, the disc comes in at just under a half hour. I appreciate the punk ethic of saying what you came to say and then moving on (no refrains repeated ad nauseam here), but I’d love to see some more content. But I suppose that’s what second albums are for. Buy it at CD Baby