Bombs Away (album)

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Bombs Away
Studio album by
Released11 July 2014 (2014-07-11)
GenreIndie pop, indie rock
Length40:54
Label
ProducerStuart Stuart
Sheppard chronology
Sheppard
(2012)
Bombs Away
(2014)
Undercover
(2017)
Singles from Bombs Away
  1. "Geronimo"
    Released: 28 February 2014
  2. "Something's Missing"
    Released: 27 June 2014
  3. "Smile"
    Released: 15 October 2014
  4. "Let Me Down Easy"
    Released: 26 January 2015
  5. "A Grade Playa"
    Released: 2 April 2015

Bombs Away is the debut studio album by Australian indie pop band Sheppard. It was released on 11 July 2014 by Empire of Song. The album includes the singles "Geronimo", "Something's Missing", "Smile", "Let Me Down Easy" and "A Grade Playa".[1][2] Bombs Away was released outside Australia through Decca Records in 2015.[3][4] The album debuted at number two on the ARIA Albums Chart and was certified gold by the Australian Recording Industry Association for shipments exceeding 35,000 copies.

All the songs on the album were written by Sheppard members George Sheppard, Amy Sheppard and Jay Bovino. The album was produced, mixed and mastered by Stuart Stuart at Analog Heart Studios, Brisbane. Its lead single, "Geronimo", was the first number one single in Australia to be recorded in Brisbane.[5]

Reviews[edit]

Bombs Away received generally positive reviews. Toby Creswell from Rolling Stone Australia gave the album four stars and said "These are sturdy pieces that could have been made any time since the Brill Building opened its doors."[6] Arne Sjostedt from The Sydney Morning Herald gave the album three and a half stars out of five, saying, "Bombs Away is an innocent, rhythmic, light fuelled album that keeps you in its grasp for the majority of its 41 minutes. Songs that take aspects of modern/'90s pop, indie and a dash of nu-folk and blend it with something very much their own."[7] Scott Fitzsimons from The Music gave the album three of out five saying, "The record's production is as polished as their press shots, but this is indie-pop that's fresh and not at all contrived" but added "At times, Bombs Away does fall into the pop trap of trying to tick too many boxes though".[8]

Alex Parker of Vulture magazine said; "Because Sheppard's sound is so mixed and the album is filled with laid back tracks, upbeat ones... and ones that just make you wanna shout, Bombs Away is sure to appeal to anyone and everyone. It has the promise to be full of hits which is something you don't see much of these days and it's just a plain old good album."[9] Bree Cohen of The AU Review gave the album 9 out of 10, saying; "Each track is memorable, and has that undeniable pizzazz that is oh so evident in 'Geronimo'. Sheppard are certainly no one trick pony, but they definitely know where their strengths lie and this definitely plays to their favour on Bombs Away. A killer record."[10]

Tour[edit]

After supporting Keith Urban throughout June on the Australian leg of his Light the Fuse Tour, Sheppard announced their Bombs Away album launch tour on 22 June.[11][12][13] Eight additional dates throughout Australia in October were announced on 4 September.[14]

Date City Country Venue
25 July 2014 Brisbane Australia Eatons Hill Hotel
26 July 2014 Sydney Luna Park Sydney
1 August 2014 Melbourne The HiFi Bar
9 August 2014 Oxfordshire England Wilderness Festival
16 August 2014 Staffordshire Weston Park
(V Festival)
17 August 2014
30 August 2014 County Laois Ireland Stradbally Estate
1 October 2014 Brisbane Australia Old Museum
2 October 2014 Melbourne Ormond Hall
3 October 2014 Deniliquin Deni Ute Muster
5 October 2014 Traralgon Kay Street
9 October 2014 Brisbane The Tivoli
10 October 2014 Wollongong Waves
11 October 2014 Bateau Bay Bateau Bay Hotel
12 October 2014 Sydney Enmore Theatre
16 October 2014 Perth Astor Theatre

Track listing[edit]

Band member Amy discussed the tracks on Bombs Away; "I've noticed most of the new tracks are about the restorative journey after being pushed down. Everyone has had their rough moments and we hope our music can help some people through those hard times."[15]

All tracks are written by Jay Bovino, Amy Sheppard and George Sheppard

No.TitleLength
1."Geronimo"3:38
2."Something's Missing"2:51
3."Let Me Down Easy"3:47
4."These People"3:20
5."A Grade Playa"3:38
6."Smile"3:50
7."The Best Is Yet to Come"4:07
8."This Electric Feeling"4:02
9."Find Someone"3:08
10."Lingering"3:52
11."Halfway to Hell"4:41
Total length:40:54
Deluxe Edition
No.TitleLength
12."Flying Away"3:47
13."Hold My Tongue"3:38
14."Shine My Way"4:34

Charts[edit]

Weekly charts[edit]

Chart (2014–15) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[16] 2
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[17] 93
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[18] 121
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[19] 51
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[20] 27
Italian Albums (FIMI)[21] 98
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[22] 40
UK Albums (OCC)[23] 81
US Billboard 200[24] 31

Year-end charts[edit]

Chart (2014) Position
Australian Albums Chart[25] 41

Certifications[edit]

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[26] Gold 35,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Awards and nominations[edit]

Year Type Award Result
2014 ARIA Music Awards[27] Album of the Year Nominated
Best Group Won
Best Independent Release Nominated
Best Pop Release Nominated
Producer of the Year (Stuart Stuart) Nominated

Release history[edit]

Region Date Format Label
Australia[28] 11 July 2014 Empire of Song
Germany[29] 30 January 2015 Decca
United States 10 March 2015 Republic
United Kingdom[30] 16 March 2015 Decca

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Sheppard Announced On Line-Up For World's Biggest Music Festival". The Music. 2 April 2015. Retrieved 23 June 2015.
  2. ^ "Sheppard - A Grade Playa (Official Video Clip)". 21 June 2015. Retrieved 23 June 2015 – via YouTube.
  3. ^ Kolle, David (13 June 2014). "Sheppard Release Debut Album Bombs Away". Muzic Magazine. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  4. ^ Staff Writer (21 March 2014). "Exclusive: Sheppard-sign-worldwide-deal-with-the-legendary-Decca-Records". The Music. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  5. ^ Koziol, Michael (8 March 2015). "Geronimo Brisbane band Sheppard leap Ahead". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
  6. ^ "Sheppard Bombs Away". Archived from the original on 8 August 2014. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
  7. ^ Sjostedt, Arne (9 July 2014). "Album review: Sheppard - Bombs Away". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  8. ^ Fitzsimons, Scott (9 July 2014). "Sheppard - Bombs Away". The Music. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  9. ^ Parker, Alex (11 July 2014). "Album Review: Sheppard's Bombs Away". Vulture Magazine. Archived from the original on 14 August 2014. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  10. ^ Cohen, Bree (16 July 2014). "Album Review: Sheppard – Bombs Away (2014 LP)". The AU Review. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  11. ^ "Sheppard Announce 'Bombs Away' Tour with New Single". Chugg Entertainment. 22 June 2014. Archived from the original on 22 July 2014. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  12. ^ "Sheppard announce Bombs Away Australian tour!". ARIA. June 2014. Archived from the original on 9 August 2014. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  13. ^ "Sheppard Official Tour Dates 2014". Bands in Town. July 2014. Archived from the original on 8 August 2014. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  14. ^ "Touring Sheppard". AusPop. 4 September 2014. Retrieved 4 September 2014.
  15. ^ Jackson, Candice (10 July 2014). "Bombs Away for Sheppard". Style Magazines. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  16. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Sheppard – Bombs Away". Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  17. ^ "Ultratop.be – Sheppard – Bombs Away" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 March 2015.
  18. ^ "Ultratop.be – Sheppard – Bombs Away" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 March 2015.
  19. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Sheppard – Bombs Away" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 March 2015.
  20. ^ "Officialcharts.de – Sheppard – Bombs Away". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 6 May 2015.
  21. ^ "Album - Classifica settimanale WK 12 (dal 16-03-2015 al 22-03-2015)" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
  22. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Sheppard – Bombs Away". Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 March 2015.
  23. ^ "Sheppard | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
  24. ^ "Sheppard Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 25 March 2015.
  25. ^ "End of Year Charts – ARIA Top 100 Albums 2014". Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on 11 January 2015. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
  26. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2014 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  27. ^ Zuel, Bernard (7 October 2014). "Chet Faker and his beard are set to rule ARIAs". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 7 October 2014.
  28. ^ "Bombs Away by Sheppard". iTunes Store. 11 July 2014. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  29. ^ "Bombs Away by Sheppard". Amazon.de. Retrieved 28 October 2014.
  30. ^ "Bombs Away by Sheppard". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 28 October 2014.