Since then, the trio have laboured away (I’m hilarious) tirelessly and are on the cusp of unleashing even more noisy newborns on us all. Which we’ll get to further down.

Why We Liked It?
Well, it’s an utterly gorgeous little amalgamation of blues, soul, dark laboured riffs, menacing drumming and whiskey-soaked vocals that echoes elements of national mind-blowers The Bookhouse Boys, and even regional rabble rousers Chased By Wolves.

You know that scene in the Matrix where Neo and Trinity have a shoot-out in the lobbly? Well, imagine if after he set the security alarm off he opened his trenchcoat and there was reverb inside instead of guns. That’s this song.

In an age of dime a dozen, prancing, preening pop pratts, this is delightfully gritty diversion that gets foots nodding and heads tapping with all the gusto of a nervous suspect in a murder trial. I’m not the first person to slap the David Lynch sticker straight on to their foreheads, but it’s one that in its rhythm and feel, is impossible to ignore.

Adam Clery Link

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Written by Nic Wright

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‘Pine Box’ sees a confident, fresh group that, having gigged extensively throughout their local environ, is impressively tight and displays a knack for matching the brooding vocals and storytelling style of Nick Cave with the energetic indie-rock dynamism of The Libertines. There is also a stain of warbling melancholia a la Florence Welch in the vocals lending ‘Pine Box’ added emotional depth bordering on the melodramatic.

The single is carefully constructed with vocalist Ben Trenerry leading from the front with a voice that could fill a stadium and backing in the shape of kinetic blues/rock/indie guitar and double bass the potentially chaotic combination of which is kept in check by a relentless rolling drum beat.

In addition to the lo-fi garage rock on display here there is an interesting structural element that sees Trenerry whispering his words against stark instrumentation in the middle-eight after which the single’s blues funk kicks back in slowly building to a satisfying crescendo that allows Trenerry to let rip before it all goes quiet leaving the listener reaching for the play button.

Guy Waddington

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First of all, what’s with these weird, middle-of-a-sentence band names (I just reviewed a band called Is Tropical)? And, secondly, what’s with Is Shepherd’s strange concoction of music styles? The trio have managed to fuse together all sorts on ‘Pine Box,’ from folk, blues, indie-pop, swamp (!?), and surf rock. It makes for odd listening, and it definitely takes a few listens to absorb all the genres and aspects of this multi-layered single, but Is Shepherd are worth taking your time with.

Singer Ben Trenerry’s voice is haunting, managing to have a kind of pretty surface sound and a sinister heart. Unlike much of the rest of the EP, the Bon Iver-folk aspect is left in the shadows, letting some drunken electric guitars take the lead – equal parts jangly surf rock and sultry blues rock, they are simply compelling (the riff of the last thirty seconds actually made me wince with approval). The rhythm section does a fine job of keeping the creeping nature of the vocals and guitar grounded, but the drummer isn’t given much room to impress.

In this folk-heavy indie era, this textured folk-rock song has the audacity to actually sound somewhat original, and for that reason alone Is Shepherd are well worth giving some attention. What’s more, there is an eerie atmosphere to ‘Pine Box’ that makes the Halloween release date highly appropriate.

Clive Rozario

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My first impression from the single is how good a singer Ben Trenerry is. He leads from the front and seems to be able to write a decent tune, the lyrics are energetic and poignant. I also like the underlying sound of the double bass. It’s unusual yet familiar.

Top marks for the interesting arty video, which accompanies the track. It was shot in wintry woodland with images of the band flicking back and forth from the studio where the trio play out the single. It’s well filmed and photographed, and works well with the music.

They have a very loyal local live following and Tom Robinson keeps championing them on his 6Music show. I’ve tracked down a bit more of their music and admit that the other stuff like, ‘Forever More’ and ‘Waitress’ offer a lot more to me. They have a bit more clout, as ‘Pine Box’ is a little light but very polished and in obtrusive.

It’s an excellent first single.
Mat Radbourne

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Alright Folks, ‘Pine Box’ the single is out today! Get your copy from iTunes, Amazon MP3, Spotify, Bandcamp etc.

Come to our single launch gig which is on at The Cluny 2 in Newcastle in a few weeks time (24th Nov).

There are only a few tickets left, which you can buy from here: http://tinyurl.com/3trdoe5