A six-piece collective with a strong visual sense, The Shed (picture Belle and Sebastian jamming with Lambchop at a Leadbelly convention, and you’re nearly there) have forged a deserved live reputation locally.
With a multi-instrumentalist approach, and no less than four vocalists/songwriters vying for space, the song styles shift from mellow indie, (‘Craven Walker’) to gothic country (‘Goldfish Love’) and beyond. Apart from some unnecessarily long intros, the instrumental textures are never less than interesting with all manner of unexpected sonic twists and turns along the way. The languid rhythm of ‘Tune For You’, the chugging, rockabilly shuffle of ‘Little Wonder’, the whimsical ‘Friends On MySpace’, and more conventional indie-pop on ‘The Cliffs’ are just some of the highlights. Meanwhile ‘Tears’ comes across like late period Go-Betweens while ‘The Weatherman’, a pastoral mid-tempo pop song, is another strong contender for standout track. The production is lush, dynamic and cinematic – some of these songs wouldn’t sound out of place on a Cormac McCarthy soundtrack and, in the grand tradition of Cork rock, there is a palpable sense of adventure shining throughout.