Brisbane band Sheppard’s fourth album Zora is personal - from the title down.
Zora isn’t only the name of the Sheppard siblings’ family matriarch and Croatian grandma – who superfans will recognise as one of their own, a regular at live shows.
"Baba, as we call her, has always been a beacon for light in our lives, always been positive,” Amy Sheppard explains.
“She’s had a really, really hard life. She came over to Australia on a ship to escape war in Yugoslavia and built a life for herself here. She worked multiple jobs. She met the love of her life who passed away from cancer when he was only fifty, leaving her to raise seven children. She’s been through the toughest of times and yet she is always smiling, always looking at the bright side.”
That positive attitude and unrelenting resilience is imprinted in not only the Sheppard siblings’ DNA, but it resonates all through their glass-half-full pop music.
They were finishing their fourth album while navigating Covid, lockdowns, music industry upheavals and personal struggles.
“A lot of the songs were about finding that light at the end of the tunnel,” Amy continues.
“We were trying to find a name for the album and came up with words like ‘sunrise’ that weren’t quite right. While we were brainstorming Emma’s husband said ‘What’s ‘dawn’ in Croatian?’ So we looked and it was ‘Zora’. It was so fortuitous, we got goosebumps and just believed it was meant to be.”
Zora has already been previewed with a run of acclaimed singles: Good Time, Daylight, Dance on the Sun and Edge of the Earth.
It arrives as Sheppard have followed through on their goal of relocating to Nashville to capitalise on their immense international appeal.
It’s now 10 years since they charmed the globe with their debut album Bombs Away and the wildly-catchy Geronimo – a song which has now had over two billion streams.
“It feels like it just happened but it also feels like a lifetime ago because so much has happened since then," Emma Sheppard says.
George Sheppard says Geronimo is like an old friend who is always by their side – one that brings joy in an instant.
“You see faces light up as soon as people hear it, I don’t think that feeling of euphoric energy that’s going on with that song will ever get old. We’d be lucky if we’re still playing Geronimo into our sixties and seventies but I feel like it would still have that same effect.
“We’re still releasing music ten years later because we had this song that had this incredible journey across the world.”
While Zora is most certainly an unashamed pop record, there’s also room for light and shade. There’s stripped back ballads like Nothing Without You (dedicated to their partners) right through to the dance-infused pop of Chasing the Sound.
The haunting Love Me Tomorrow dabbles into Amy Sheppard’s side hustle as a solo country artist.
Respect is an antidote to the love songs on Zora, written to help a friend going through a bitter break up.
“It was very therapeutic to write,” Amy says. “I’m sure it’s going to empower other people who hear it.”
There’s also their trademark attention to detail that makes it a whole album rather than a collection of songs, including musical interludes an intro and an outro that features Zora herself.
“We played it to her,” Amy says. “It was a truly beautiful moment.”
Nashville isn’t just a geographically-convenient base for Sheppard to be able to tour internationally.
The band are already ingrained in Nashville’s incredibly diverse songwriting culture – which extends beyond just the country genre.
“A lot of the pop producers are moving from LA and New York to Nashville," George says. "It’s a bit of a mass exodus, it’s like a new chapter and it’s exciting to be here for it. People are really into pop music which is great for us.”
America’s positive spin on success also suits Sheppard’s mentality.
“Australia does suffer a bit from the Tall Poppy syndrome, we’re all very humble and no one wants to preach about their achievements," George says.
“In America people are genuinely interested in how many times platinum a song is. Nashville is a community helping each other build something great.
"And for a pop band from Australia, we hadn’t really felt that sense of community. It’s a different mindset, but it’s very encouraging and creative. There isn’t any shame around the word ‘pop’ here. Even people in metal bands will go ‘pop band? That’s cool’."
Emma Sheppard handles the band’s social media and is knee deep in the endless data now available to modern musicians.
Viewing at their streaming data tells them precisely where in the world their fans are listening - invaluable information when routing tours.
She's also filming content for the band's social media platforms, navigating a world that changes almost daily as musicians have to try and find their own viral moment.
"You can't fight technology, you have to have to roll with it but there's no way of knowing what is going to do well on line or what is going to flop."
One of the new album's best tracks, The Gift, is ironically about the downsides of social media.
"One of the frustrations I have with social media is how it was becoming a full time job," George says. "Artists have to constantly leave themselves open to receiving comments from trolls. Things people would never say if they were in front of you, but they have free reign to post it on your page. It's pretty unhealthy for your mental situation.
"The song is to remind people the gift is in the present moment. Stop and smell the roses, don't take a photo of them. Put your phone down, you might get happier."
Zora's album cover - the siblings submerged in water up to their eyes - touches on the theme of being silenced online, not biting back.
Emma is now in charge of seeing comments on their pages - good and bad.
"It's just something that comes with it. Some days you wake up and the first thing you read is something shitty someone has said to us. It's not just about our music, this is our family. But there also a lot of people messaging us to say how much they love our music, so it's good to know that."
The album also contains a song which perfectly sums Sheppard and their focus on gratitude over grievances.
Written about the early days of their band, the Beatlesque and nostalgic Play On The Moon is literally a goal George had from Sheppard.
“In the formative years the sky’s the limit. We want to get to the top of Everest. We’re gonna be the first band to play on the moon,” George explains.
"As time goes on you realise some dreams are probably a little bit unobtainable. The song is about growing up, maybe we aren’t going to play on the moon but it’s still been an amazing, beautiful ride. And we still have big dreams.”
Zora is out June 21
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