Different, dense, and daring - Elizabeth Shepherd's self-produced new record Three Things (out on Pinwheel Music February 17, 2023) is a career highpoint by a confident artist. For the better part of two decades, Shepherd's odd-meter, off-kilter funkiness has set her apart as a songwriter. The rhythmic complexity remains but, on Three Things, she often eschews more conventional verse-chorus structures for a sample-rich, sonic collage sometimes reminiscent of Kendrick Lamar. It's worth remembering that Shepherd once was an aspiring classical pianist who fell in love with jazz - via hip-hop.