Brisbane’s Sheppard have given fans yet another new song for 2021, with the seasonal “Christmas Without You” serving as a rare homegrown Christmas song, delivered with the sort of pop sheen only the acclaimed outfit can produce.
Released today, “Christmas Without You” feels like a fitting bookend to two years spent in limbo as a global pandemic continues on. An anthemic track designed to comfort those celebrating the festive season without loved ones, it feels reminiscent of Coldplay’s perennial “Christmas Lights”, and subverts any sort of negative expectations that may go hand-in-hand with the idea of a ‘Christmas song’, allowing emotion and heartfelt sentiment to expertly shine through.
“My sisters and I realised that there must be so many people who, for whatever reason, haven’t been able to see their families and loved ones for a very long time, and Christmas time can be particularly hard for people in those circumstances,” explained George Sheppard.
“We wanted to write a song for all of those people who might not be having such a great Christmas without their families, and to leave them with a little bit of warmth and hope.”
Arriving alongside the track is a stunning visual created by the band’s longtime visual collaborators, Polish graphic design firm Ars Thanea. Utilising painstakingly created CGI imagery, the clip almost ebbs and flows in line with the song itself, while not distracting from the sentiment of the track itself.
Meanwhile, Sheppard are also set to give “Christmas Without You” the live debut it deserves, having been invited to perform at the Brisbane Lord Mayor Christmas Carols on December 11th.
“We’ve been lucky enough to be invited to perform at a few of the big carol events this year, which is a huge honour,” explains George. “We’ll be playing this new Christmas song of course! It will sound huge with a full live band and possibly an orchestra, so we’re really hoping it will be a beautiful spectacle for families all across Australia.”
Sheppard’s “Christmas Without You” is out now.
