Loose Cattle Explores the Darker Side of Holiday Cheer in “Shepherds In A Parking Lot”

“Sometimes it’s hard to sing a Christmas song.”

Or so the refrain goes in a new holiday song, “Shepherds In A Parking Lot,” from Brooklyn-based band Loose Cattle. Sometimes it’s hard to listen to a holiday song, too, particularly if you’re used to a holiday season that’s less than perfect. That’s why the duo put together Seasonal Affective Disorder, a holiday album that ventures beyond silent nights and winter wonderlands to explore the darker side of the holiday season.

With lyrics like, “Your bonus was just bogus, because your boss is still a dick,” the track doesn’t pull any punches, offering up equal doses of comedy and tragedy over a deceptively peaceful arrangement. “’Shepherds…’ was meant to be a song for anyone going through hard times during the manic happiness of the holidays,” the band’s Kimberly Kaye says. “It’s a song that says, ‘You’re definitely not alone if you’re not overjoyed right now. Feel your feels.’”

The video for the tune is a bit more peaceful, showing footage of various barnyard animals wandering around pastoral settings. “The idea for the video came from the line in the chorus that became the song’s title,” Michael Cerveris says. “It’s one of those lines that probably doesn’t make a whole lot of sense when you dissect it. But there’s something really evocative for us in the image, and meaningful in some way we can’t quite elaborate. Something about what an unwelcoming place we’ve made the world for things like grace.”

Seasonal Affective Disorder is out December 1. Watch the video for “Shepherds In A Parking Lot” below.

LOOSE CATTLE — Shepherds In A Parking Lot (official video) from Loose Cattle on Vimeo.