Vonda Shepard Nine Songs

Tracks: Soul Crimes, Don't Stop The Train, Hallelujah Anyway, Sugar Rush, Gonna Get Up, Paper Plane, Written On The Water ft. Jackson Browne, Boxer In The Corner, Trying To Find The Road

Label: Hotelé Records

There has never been any sense of Vonda Shepard rushing to put out a record simply for the sake of having something new to say. Instead, she has always seemed more interested in maintaining the remarkable bond she has built with her live audience, whilst allowing herself the time and space to follow her own creative process. New music arrives when it is ready — and, on Nine Songs, that patience has once again paid off.

Following her 13th studio album, Red Light, Green Light, released in 2022, Nine Songs is the 14th chapter in a career that continues to defy easy categorisation. It is an impressive, assured and deeply soulful collection, and one that demonstrates just how much creative ground Shepard continues to cover.

Of course, for millions of listeners, Shepard's voice remains instantly recognisable from her time on Ally McBeal. But to define her by that association alone is to overlook a career that has consistently demonstrated her versatility. Since those television-fuelled days, she has established herself as an artist unwilling to be confined by genre, format or sonic expectation. Whether rooted in blues, soul, rock, gospel, singer-songwriter traditions or something altogether harder to define, Shepard allows the music to lead the way.

That instinct is all over Nine Songs. Produced by her husband, the acclaimed Mitchell Froom, and engineered by David Boucher, the album has a wonderfully cohesive feel. There is grit here, but also warmth; muscular rhythms sit comfortably alongside Shepard's unmistakable piano-led sensibility. It feels both familiar and fresh — a combination that is notoriously difficult to achieve.

Perhaps the greatest compliment is that these songs sound as though they have been part of Shepard's repertoire for years. There is an immediacy to them, an ease that invites you in rather than demanding attention. Hallelujah Anyway is a particular standout, its resilient optimism offering a welcome sense of light without ever becoming sentimental. Written on the Water, featuring the legendary Jackson Browne, adds another dimension, whilst Don't Stop the Train and Sugar Rush inject the album with a little extra pace and grit.

Then there is Boxer in the Corner, which starts to draw the album to a close with a raw determination that feels particularly fitting. It is the sound of an artist who has been around long enough to know exactly what she wants to say — and, perhaps more importantly, when to say it.

At around 30 minutes, however, Nine Songs does leave you with one small problem: you want more.

There is no filler here, and nothing feels underdeveloped. Quite the opposite. The album's brevity is arguably part of its strength, leaving every song with its own space and purpose. But once those nine songs have played their course, there is an undeniable temptation to press play again, partly because the collection feels so complete and partly because it leaves you wondering what else Shepard might have in store.

Fortunately, there is an answer to that craving. Shepard's upcoming UK and Ireland tour should provide the opportunity to hear these songs expand and breathe in the live environment — the place where her relationship with her audience has always been at its strongest.

Nine Songs is therefore more than simply another album in an already remarkable catalogue. It is another reminder that Vonda Shepard has never needed to chase trends or rush the creative process. She has followed the music, trusted her instincts and continued to evolve on her own terms.