Dark Side of Sound

We were all fans of Soundgarden growing up... or at least, anyone that I would care to associate with better have been. While I knew they were an exceptionally talented band full of savant-esque musicians that did a pretty terrific job of working through a collaborative writing process, I never exactly knew which influences came from where.

Thus, when Ben Shepherd released his solo album, In Deep Owl, under the moniker HBS, it was interesting to see the source of one of my favourite grunge bands' dark side. Almost immediately, I could far better understand some of my favourite Soundgarden tracks such as Half, Head Down or Jesus Christ Pose. Shepherd was a dark, macabre man.

Thus, listening to his first and only solo effort, it's pretty glorious to hear the raw sounds of Shepherd's work without the influence of his equally talented bandmates. His tracks are engaging, mellow, dark but still driving and cool. They're the kind of tracks that you feel like a bit of a badass just listening to.

Don't take my word for it, badass:



-I raise 3 fingers to the skies, between the lines is your reply