Elizabeth Shepherd
Heavy Falls The Night
By Kevin Jones

Album number three generally marks the moment an artist attempts a more serious and measured approach to music making, and for new breed jazz talent Elizabeth Shepherd, this has meant less swinging soloist and more singer-songwriter. The subtle transformation is remarkably evident in new set Heavy Falls The Night, an exceedingly textured collection of story-driven tunes running the rhythmic gamut between thick and heady late night moods and high steppin' dance floor fillers. Showing complete confidence in her role as the record's lone producer, Shepherd enriches each cut with nuanced twists and enveloping layers, be they the snatching breaks and panning vocals of "The Taking" or the swooning harmonies and bird-like echoes of the album's title track. The unconventional string plucks and key combo on "One More Day" and hollowed-out percussion of "On The Sufficiency of Words" further diversify Shepherd's well-tailored compositions, while the tambourine-laced "Seven Bucks" provides some characteristic remix fodder. Through it all, the Juno-nominated singer and pianist's cool lyricism and impassioned delivery never tire, even when the words aren't her own, as is the case with her nostalgic Ann Murray/Loggins gem "Danny's Song," a perfect closer to a wholly satisfying album.

How would you describe what has made this album feel so different from the previous two?
I would say [the focus was] myself. That was really the big difference. I went to jazz school, and coming out of there I felt like I had to prove something. And I don't know if it's just getting older and feeling a little more settled in my own skin, but I felt that for this album it was more about just checking in with what I wanted to do musically. I also wanted to write more songs and stories about people, so that the song services the story, as opposed to a jazz tune that allows everyone to express themselves in a solo. I wasn't interested in solos; I wanted to let the song speak for itself.

Do you find that more traditional jazz doesn't really allow that?
A lot of jazz, unless it's vocal jazz, but even then [it] is really about the instruments and about allowing the instrumentalist to have a chance to express themselves musically. It's less about the song itself, whereas with singer-songwriters it's all about the song. So [I wanted to this to be] about the songs as these small, miniature blips in time that take you somewhere, and that's enough; it doesn't need to be anything more than that. It doesn't need everyone's two cents' worth, the bass solo... that just seems really formulaic after a while. (Do Right!)
Armoured Saint - La Razza
Happy Birthday - Happy Birthday
The Whigs - In the Dark
Landmine Marathon - Sovereign Descent
Drive-By Truckers - The Big To-Do
Dead Letter Chorus - The August Magnificent
The Martinez Brothers - Don’t No Yet
Dioramic - Technicolor
Donnacha Costello - Before We Say Goodbye
Real Estate
Ulrich Schnauss - Missing Deadlines: Selected Remixes
Colleen Brown - Foot In Heart
Joanna Newsom / Kevin Barker
CMW – Rich Aucoin
CMW – Two Hours Traffic
CMW – The Wooden Sky
CMW – Yukon Blonde
CMW – The Balconies
CMW – Starring Janet Leigh
CMW – Titan
CMW – Bison B.C.
CMW – Barn Burner
CMW – Assassinate the Following
CMW – Aeternam
CMW – Hannah Georgas
CMW – Ladies of the Canyon
CMW – Brasstronaut
CMW – Plants and Animals
CMW – The Acorn
CMW – Think About Life
CMW – The Russian Futurists
CMW – Winter Gloves
CMW – K-os
CMW – Harvey Milk
CMW – The Atlas Moth
CMW – Coalesce
CMW – Burning Love
CMW – The Lytics
CMW – The Rhythm Method
CMW – Leif Vollebekk
CMW – Cadence Weapon
CMW – Fields of Fur
CMW – Diamond Rings
CMW – Speech Debelle
CMW – Kae Sun
CMW – Vivian Girls
CMW – Molested Youth
CMW – Male Bonding
CMW – Jason Collett
CMW – Bahamas
CMW – Zeus
CMW – Hippymafia
CMW – Spirits
Burzum - Belus
The Appleseed Cast
A Sunny Day in Glasgow / Solars
Ludacris - Battle of the Sexes
Titus Andronicus - The Monitor
Miles Kurosky - The Desert of Shallow Effects
Frightened Rabbit - The Winter of Mixed Drinks
JJ - no 3
Liars - Sisterworld
Gorillaz - Plastic Beach
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Beat the Devil’s Tattoo
Aloha - Home Acres
Finntroll - Nifelvind
Dark Tranquillity - We Are the Void
Abscess - Dawn of Inhumanity
Sectioned - Purulent Reality
Via Audio - Animalore
Ghostkeeper - Ghostkeeper
Immolation - Majesty and Decay
Surfer Blood / Turbo Fruits
Chain and the Gang / The Strange Boys
Aldaaron - Nous Reviendrons Immortels
Van Canto - Tribe of Force
Mortemia - Misere Mortem
Ortolan - Time on a String
Miles Kurosky - The Desert of Shallow Effects
Daughters - Daughters
The Generals - Stand Up Straight
Shadows Fall / Bison B.C.
Kittie / God Forbid
Against Me! / Cancer Bats
Wilco / Bahamas
Roxanne Potvin / Caracol
Avsky - Scorn
Blood Cult - We Are the Cult of the Plains
Blues Skies Turn Black 10-Year Anniversary featuring North of America, Rockets Red Glare, the Besnard Lakes
Clogs - The Creatures in the Garden of Lady Walton
The Holmes Brothers - Feed My Soul
Borknagar - Universal
Rogue Wave - Permalight
Ruby Suns - Fight Softly
These New Puritans - Hidden
Kinnie Starr - A Different Day
John Hiatt - The Open Road
Loscil - Endless Falls
Josiah Wolf - Jet Lag
Disfigured Dead - Visions of Death
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