Ascendez-Vous
Self Release

Is Shepherd demonstrate with the five tracks on their debut, 'Ascendez-Vous', that they have firm ideas about what they want to be, and how they want to present themselves. Self-releasing your music is not usually a guarantee of polish, either in production or packaging, but Is Shepherd deliver a set of songs that don't lack for depth and interest in their execution, or, for what it's worth, a solid, charming aesthetic in their CD sleeve.

It isn't perfect, and the polish can get in the way of the songs – every one starts with the emotional dial set way high, be it an indie-pastoral groove, or a tight rocker, and there's little room for the music to develop beyond that. The band seem concerned to prove they can cover all corners from a baseline in the hazy territory between indie, folk and electronica, and it's all done exceedingly competently. The downsides are that the power of their self-belief seems to have blinded them to the occasional benefit of holding back a little, and the lyrics can come out a bit pat, nearly exclusively concerned as they are with love/music/truth.

www.isshepherd.com