Shepherds — Loco Hills

The Shepherds are a band of Brooklynites who play Kosmische infused psychedelic extendo-jams. The band, like lots of bands these days, are made up of members of other bands, in this case three quarters of Meneguar and G. Lucas Crane, of the Vanishing Voice and Non-Horse. Loco Hills consists of four long tracks, which don't veer too far from their parent band's footprints, which is no big surprise. There are representations of Can-like bongos and tribal drums, blocky analog synth patterns and tons of semi-aimless noodling.

It's not really a subtle recording, despite the fact that there are some quiet moments. It sounds as if all of the personalities are competing to be heard much of the time, which makes for a claustrophobic and somewhat unfocused racket. There are sparks here and there which leave some hope that future outings may produce something worthwhile; the spiky guitars intertwine into some interesting cross cutting scree at times, and the tape loops are tastefully applied, and don't sound tacked on. Loco Hills isn't an entirely formless jam session. The band locks into a groove at times. More often than not, however, the spaces between the riffs sound like a scramble to get to the next riff. For this type of music to engage the listener, the players need to lay back and give each other some room to breathe, and most of all they need to be intuitive enough to let the music develop, rather than force it. If that sounds like a tall order, well, it is. But it's exactly why Loco Hills isn't all that engaging.