''Bombs Away'' is the debut studio album by Australian

indie pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and sub ...

band Sheppard. It was released on 11 July 2014 by Empire of Song. The album includes the singles "

Geronimo Geronimo ( apm, Goyaałé, , ; June 16, 1829 – February 17, 1909) was a prominent leader and medicine man from the Bedonkohe band of the Ndendahe Apache people. From 1850 to 1886, Geronimo joined with members of three other Central Apache ba ...

", " Something's Missing", " Smile", " Let Me Down Easy" and "A Grade Playa". ''Bombs Away'' was released outside Australia through

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American ...

in 2015. The album debuted at number two on the ARIA Albums Chart and was certified gold by the

Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) is a trade association representing the Australian recording industry which was established in the 1970s by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing th ...

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 Stuart Stuart is a Brisbane-based, ARIA-nominated record producer, songwriter, mixer and mastering engineer. His recording studio iAnalog Heart Records and based in Brisbane, Australia. His credits include Sheppard, The Veronicas, Dean Lewis and ...

at Analog Heart Studios,

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

. Its lead single, "Geronimo", was the first number one single in Australia to be recorded in Brisbane.

Reviews

''Bombs Away'' received generally positive reviews. Toby Creswell from ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' 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." Arne Sjostedt from ''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...

'' 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." 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". 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." 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."

Tour

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. Eight additional dates throughout Australia in October were announced on 4 September.

Track listing

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."

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Awards and nominations

Release history

References

{{Authority control 2014 debut albums ARIA Award-winning albums Sheppard (band) albums