Canadian rockers The Sheepdogs have released a new EP, Paradise Alone. It's the band's first release on their own label – the excellently-titled Right On Records – and is accompanied by a visualiser for the lead track, Come Take A Ride.
"That one’s just a good old fashioned, dumb rock song, which is one of my favourite things," says frontman Ewan Currie. "If a song makes me feel like I'm driving in the car with the windows down, that’s a good start to an album to me."
The roots of the EP lie in a trip Currie undertook in 2023, when he found himself alone at a bar in the Florida Keys, drinking mezcal and listening to country music, reflecting on his upcoming 40th birthday and the band's own 20th anniversary.
“It was not lost on me that the potential for a midlife crisis was in front of me," he says. "But I chose not to fully go into it. I just had a bad time, and then I went ‘alright, I'll write some songs’. It’s what my life is. I'm a musician, it's what I do. I'm so fucking lucky to do this job for a living."
The result is the five-track Paradise Alone, which is available to stream now. It was recorded in just five days at Southern Grooves in Memphis with engineer Matt Ross-Spang, who also worked on the band's 2015 album Future Nostalgia. The second track from the EP, the Jimmy Buffet-inspired Darlin' Baby, was released last month.
Physical copies of Paradise Alone are available to pre-order now.
Since leaving Warner Music Canada two years ago, The Sheepdogs have gained ownership of their back catalogue, allowing them to distribute their previous and future releases via Right On Records.
"We've been a band for 20 years, and pretty comfortable with who we are and how we do things," says bassist Ryan Gullen. "We've lasted this long by staying true to ourselves, doing things our way, and not chasing trends. Acquiring our catalogue and starting our own label is about taking things to the next level.
"We want to be in the driver’s seat, doing things our way, and maybe even helping other artists do the same. With so much constantly changing, we're focused on staying true to our approach. In a world of content, we believe that the best thing a band can offer is music, and that’s how we want to approach our releases. While funny videos are great, people ultimately are here for the music, so we're setting up a system to deliver as much of it as possible (and yes, we’ll still make those funny videos too).
"This record is the first in a series of planned releases, allowing us to experiment, collaborate, and take risks. Instead of sticking to the traditional album cycle, we want to challenge ourselves creatively and share more music with people."
The Sheepdogs have just finished a run of Canadian festival dates in the company of Brian Adams, and will begin a US tour on September 13 at the Borderland Festival in East Aurora, NY. A European tour starts in November, with a run of UK dates lined up between November 29 and December 5. Full dates below.
The Sheepdogs: Paradise Alone tracklist
1. Take Me For A Ride
2. Darlin’ Baby
3. My Baby
4. Let Me In
5. POS
The Sheepdogs: 2024 tour dates
Sep 13: East Aurora Borderland Festival, NY
Sep 14: Spring Green Shitty Barn, WI
Sep 15: Minnesota Fine Line, MN
Sep 17: Denver Bluebird Theatre, CO
Sep 18: Salt Lake City Urban Lounge, UT
Sep 20: Seattle Neumos, WA
Sep 21: Portland Wonder Ballroom, OR
Sep 23: San Francisco The Chapel, CA
Sep 25: Los Angeles Lodge Room, CA
Sep 26: San Diego Music Box, CA
Sep 27: Phoenix Crescent Ballroom, AZ
Sep 29: Austin 3TEN ACL Live, TX
Sep 30: Dallas Kessler Theater, TX
Oct 02: Indianapolis HI-FI, IN
Oct 03: Cleveland Beachland Ballroom, OH
Oct 04: Kitchener Oktoberfest Koolhaus, ON
Oct 06: Woodstock Levon Helm's Studios, NY
Oct 07: Boston The Sinclair, MA
Oct 08: Hamden Space Ballroom, CT
Oct 10: New York Racket, NY
Oct 11: Ardmore Music Hall, PA
Oct 12: Washington Black Cat, D.C.
Oct 14: Atlanta Vinyl, GA
Oct 15: Nashville Basement East, TN
Oct 17: Chicago Metro, IL
Nov 09: Santiago de Compestela Outono Codax Festival, Spain
Nov 10: Madrid Mon, Spain
Nov 11: Barcelona La Nau, Spain
Nov 13: Munich Strom, Germany
Nov 14: Dresden Beatpol, Germany
Nov 15: Berlin Frannz, Germany
Nov 17: Hamburg Bahnhof Pauli, Germany
Nov 18: Aarhus Headquarters, Germany
Nov 20: Stockholm Debaser, Sweden
Nov 21: Oslo John Dee, Norway
Nov 22: Copenhagen Loppen, Denmark
Nov 24: Groningen De Oosterport, The Netherlands
Nov 25: Utrecht Tivoli Vredenburg, The Netherlands
Nov 26: Cologne Luxor, Germany
Nov 27: Paris Badaboum, France
Nov 29: Trecco Bay Planet Rockstock, UK
Nov 30: Bristol Strange Brew, UK
Dec 01: Manchester Band on the Wall, UK
Dec 02: Glasgow Oran Mor, UK
Dec 04: Leeds Brudenell Social Club, UK
Dec 05: London Islington Assembly Hall, UK
