Where others merely sing, Little Shrine’s Jade Shipman goes deep in ways not typically found where the spiritual meets emotionally explosive songwriting. On her band’s forthcoming album, Heart Instruction, Shipman searched for ideas that inspired following one’s muse with an intuitive sense of knowing what’s right for you.
Musically, Little Shrine evokes a mix of effervescent early 90’s college rock (10,000 Maniacs) while nurturing baroque folk gallantry often heard with Linda and Richard Thompson. Their deep vocabulary and musical conversation buildups remind us to use music as a therapeutic charm when recommended. On “The Other Side,” which Glide is premiering below, and all these penetrating musical qualities come to fruition.
“The Other Side” deals with spirituality and creativity. It’s about struggling to hear messages from beyond, messages that are indicating what to create when there’s so much clatter in our daily lives,” says Shipman. “The Greeks talked about muses—mysterious entities that give creative inspiration. That resonates for me. “The Other Side” is about trying to manage a relationship with your muse. I get these callings from the other side, from this other place that is unknown to me, asking for engagement and attention. Sometimes it’s hard to listen. Sometimes it’s hard to hear, and hard to know how to engage with it.”
“All of these worldly things—whether it’s to-do lists, or even things to watch or read, they can all serve as distractions from creating. I think it’s because to create something new means wading into the unknown. It can feel uncomfortable to make something from nothing. Also, sometimes, things will come out in my own creativity that I’m not necessarily prepared to be conscious of, and that can be unnerving. I sometimes get messages about certain relationships or suddenly have a clear sense that I’m off track in some way. The song is about wanting that wisdom from beyond, but also finding it challenging to engage,” adds Shipman.
“I feel some sense of obligation or responsibility to my creative life. Yet sometimes I feel apologetic for asking my creative life to fit around so many other things. Like, “Yes, I would like the creative inspiration, thank you, but can it please arrive Tuesday between 2 and 4pm?” But it isn’t realistic to have creativity scheduled so tightly. I worry about inadvertently choking that creative voice, or making it quieter and quieter until someday I can’t hear it anymore.”
