Joel Shearer selects 5 favorites that influenced his new album Listening.

Music for slowing down, Joel Shearer’s Listening took us on an a radiant meditative journey last week at In Sheep’s Clothing HQ. Immersed in restraint and repetition, the album unfolded in layers of ambient guitar, strings, piano, cello, and trumpet, revealing new harmonies and resonances as the sounds subtly shifted and evolved over time. After having the vinyl in our homes for over a week now, we can confidently say that this is one of those albums that gets better with every listen, and, if you allow it to, Listening can almost function like environmental music, setting a slow and steady mood that perfectly blends in with your most intimate living spaces.

Speaking on the album’s creation, Shearer says, “I didn’t know I was making another record. I was experimenting, wanting to do something beyond just the electric guitar. So, I started these other tracks, and that’s how Listening came about. Instead of a traditional song structure with a verse, chorus, or B section, it’s one continuous movement that grows and dissolves,” Shearer explains. “It’s not about anticipating the next moment—it’s about sitting inside the sound, getting comfortable with patience.”

A Topanga-based session musician, composer, and producer, Shearer’s previous solo albums, Morning Loops and Hours, explored the manipulation of only the electric guitar, using texture and repetition to push beyond conventions. Listening continues that journey, offering music that resists distraction and rewards deep attention. Shearer recorded Listening without a click track, working in long, freeform takes. His shimmering, clean guitar tones—often unrecognizable, processed through looping pedals and effects—became a foundation, with layers of sound building around it. “I love making the guitar sound like anything but a guitar,” he says. “I might play for just a minute, but once the sound enters the effects chain, it takes on a life of its own. The music keeps evolving, stretching time in ways I couldn’t predict.”

Listening will be out on vinyl this Friday, March 14th via our label ISC Hi-Fi Selects.

Pre-order is available now: https://insheepsclothinghifi.com/product/joel-shearer-listening-lp/

Below, we asked Joel to share five albums that influenced Listening along with a quick note about each selection.

Stars of the Lid – Carte-De-Visite (2007)

“Stars Of The Lid have been hugely inspiring to me while making Listening. The music has the perfect pacing, sonic palette, harmonic information, emotional content and subtlety. When I listen to this music, I forget everything else.”

Sigur Ros – Takk… (2005)

“Sigur Ros have been an inspiration to me from the moment I heard their music. Rich, melodic, dynamic and so so so so beautiful. I think it’s the beautiful part that inspires me most. There is such awe and wonder in their music and it makes me feel childlike again. I absolutely adore this music.”

Brian Eno, Harold Budd – Ambient 2: The Plateaux of Mirror (1980)

“The opening track, “First Light” with Brian Eno is stunning. Simplicity, space, control. When you listen to masters like these two inspiring artists and they take it back to simplicity, it is a reminder that less truly is more.”

Nils Frahm – Screws (2012)

“For me, Nils always delivers across the board. His music always sounds so rich, well recorded and intimate. I feel like I’m sitting at the piano with him. There’s an exposed vulnerability that inspires me to create. One day, I will make an acoustic guitar album inspired by Nils’ piano works – One day.”

Jon Hopkins – Immunity (2013)

“Jon Hopkins is one of my favorite artists out there. I love his work so much. This album, though very very very different from ‘Listening’ has been one of my “go to’s” for everything from testing out speakers to dancing to driving to lounging around the house. His innovation and merging of styles and sound design all inspire me to never limit myself.”