Bleep

“Well, I’ve been looking back”, sings Bill Callahan, but the 20 astoundingly consistent songs which make up the sprawl of Shepherd In A Sheepskin Vest — his first album in six years — sees the veteran singer-songwriter do more than just reminisce. Songs like ‘747’ and ‘The Ballad of the Hulk’ feel cosy in Callahan’s dry wit and enrapturing intonation; more wire-sharp yarns for the ball of twine that is his near-30 year career. Yet, given Callahan’s back catalogue of character pieces and sleight-of-hand misdirection, diaristic wanderings set Shepherd In A Sheepskin Vest apart, amounting to one of Callahan’s most candid albums to date.