You may not immediately think of Ireland when discussing psych bands and their music, but I hope that changes after you read this review. You see, there just happens to be a psychedelic jam band located in the Emerald Isle called Space Shepherds. Their newest opus, Losing Time Finding Space, was released on February 18th, 2023, and is exactly what you’re looking for in the psychedelic music genre.
About Losing Time Finding Space
This is their third studio effort and consists of 6 tracks that cover everything we want from psychedelic music. They take a spacey approach to these extended jams, as they apply influences from experimental, rock, heavy psych, jam bands, psychedelic rock, and space rock to create epic songs that often exceed 13 minutes. During that stretch of time, the band will create an atmosphere perfect for a lazy day in front of your stereo system, with the hazy smoke of Mary Jane filling the air and your lungs, altering your mindset just enough to create the perfect listening experience.
The Songs
1. Starseed (Intro) 01:15
2. Ending The Beginning (pt.1) 13:37
3. Ending The Beginning (pt.2) 12:57
4. Pillars (Interlude) 01:23
5. Losing Time… 17:33
6. …Finding Space 13:27
“Starseed” and “Pillars” are extremely brief compared to their counterparts. The former employs done Latin flavored percussion and a sparse guitar part. The latter is fairly similar, creating a nice feeling of cohesion while breaking up the more lengthy tracks around it.
“Ending the Beginning (pt. 1)” starts things off with a slick groove provided by a slightly fuzzed bass and a perfect drum part to van it up. A spacey atmosphere underneath slowly becomes more prevalent as the song moves forward, with that groove remaining solid but settled into the background more than in the intro section.
The jam vibe that is a staple of the band’s sound is another main element that persists throughout this song and the album as a whole. This creates a loose feel, yet every piece of the song is tight, and I imagine their live performances only enhance that.
“Ending the Beginning (pt. 2)” is the perfect extension of “(pt. 1)” while also adding something new to the musical conversation. In both parts, I can hear nods to Pink Floyd and King Buffalo, who are, respectively, the classic and modern-day masters of the genre. Space Shepherds utilize these influences while still holding true to their own musical vision, and their dedication to their craft comes across superbly.
The last two tracks are what I consider the title track(s), “Losing Time …” and then “… Finding Space”, and between the two of them, we’re looking at just over 30 minutes of music. This may seem a crazy amount of time for the uninitiated, but this is a somewhat common occurrence for those in the know. My only issue with the two is that things seem to get a bit repetitive and similar sounding, which made my interest wane.
Final Thoughts
As much as I enjoy what Space Shepherds have created, I also wished that things would move along at a little quicker pace. This is probably due to the jam band influences they’ve applied, the length of the tracks, and the fact that most jam-oriented music eventually loses me. Those that are more into that style of music will find plenty of things to enjoy on Losing Time Finding Space, though, as the band is quite talented at what they do. So, head over to their Bandcamp profile if any of this sounds appealing and carve out the time it’ll take to fully listen to the album. Enjoy!!!
Support Space Shepherds by checking out their Bandcamp or finding them on social media (Instagram, Facebook).
This review was written by Tom Hanno, who has been writing reviews for the last 7 years but has been sharing his love of music for the majority of his life. Originally starting out at the now defunct Chimera Magazine, he is currently contributing to Doomed and Stoned, The Sleeping Shaman, The Doom Charts, Tom’s Reviews, and The Third Eye. Read more of Tom’s reviews by checking out his Linktree.
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