Read this short interview with Ben here: http://www.shout4music.com/features/the-back-page-a-qa-with-ben-trenerry-of-is-shepherd/

“But Ben… its a girl!?”

First off, thanks for visiting our new site. Hopefully you have had a chance to listen to some of our new record, or even download it via iTunes or Bandcamp? Please, tell us what do you think!

It has to be said that this record has taken some time to finish, but we’re really chuffed with the result and hope you like it too. Its certainly been a learning curve, this might be pre-release nerves talking but I am aware that it may not be an immediate record. However in my own listening experience – the best records take a few listens to really unfold.

Those of you who know me will probably be asking why the record is called ‘Songs for Sons’, when you just had a baby girl? Well… my wife fell pregnant during the making of the record and during we were absolutely convinced that she was going to be a he, so convinced that the record name stuck. How wrong we were. We had a beautiful baby girl, and that is her heartbeat (in the womb) you can heart on Generations.

The writing and recording of SFS seems to have been intrinsically linked to the birth. When I was writing it we were trying for a baby and as a result I was thinking a lot about my impending responsibilities, the relationship with my own parents – and of course the world we live in. I think that comes through quite strongly in the lyrics.

I have written songs for a long time now, but this time around I became very aware of the need to be as truthful as possible and to really ensure the music was absolutely right – no compromise. I also wanted to create something uplifting & full of hope. The approach & music of Jeff Buckley was a big influence with this as he managed to make a record (Grace) with such beauty without sacrificing his love of rock music, and the dynamic that this medium naturally can bring. The most important thing I learned during this process is that if you intend to create something uplifting, hopeful and ‘enlightened’ – then you really need to live it. Not sure whether we achieved that, but we certainly tried.

Another factor in the name of the record was the music that went into it. Our last record (Ascendez Vous) was probably more feminine in that we had Ally playing violin & sharing the singing with me, so some of the rockier stuff was probably toned down to help her find her way into it. This time around I guess we have embraced ‘the rock’, both Bob & John are rockers at heart – so I guess the title comes from the idea that this is (rock) music for boys, or sons… hence ‘Songs for Sons’.

Of course we have offset that with some more introspective acoustic tunes. Creating a record which covered all aspects of what we do is really important, we love variety – and as such another great influence on this record was my love for the band Yo la Tengo. What I love about this band is the fact that they can put out records which feature songs from seemingly different genres (Pop, Indie, Jazz etc.) but they still manage to knit it together into something that is always really interesting & cohesive. Its like Queen’s albums from the 70’s, epic, funny, rocking, twee, direct, personal… we aspire to this stuff.

Enjoy.