Joan Shelley | ||
| Allmusic Biography : Based out of Louisville, Kentucky, singer/songwriter Joan Shelleys warm and mellifluous voice evokes both the deep south and west coast, drawing from both old-time country and 60s folk. A talented songwriter and prolific performer, Shelley splits her time between solo outings and collaborations with other area musicians like Daniel Martin Moore and Joe Manning, with whom she issued the albums Farthest Field (2012) and Outside Stay Outside (2014), respectively, and with the old-timey music trio Maiden Radio, which also features the talents of Julia Purcell and Cheyenne Mize. Shelley released her solo debut Ginko in 2012, followed by the No Quarter-issued Electric Ursa in 2014, the latter of which saw her working alongside fleet-fingered guitarist Nathan Salsburg. 2015s Over and Even found Shelley and Salsburg delivering an evocative set of country-folk originals that flirted with English and Irish traditional music. For her eponymous fifth studio LP, Shelley, Salsburg, and James Elkington headed up to Chicago to record with Wilcos Jeff Tweedy behind the board. The first single from the record, "Wild Indifference," dropped in March 2017, with the full-length album arriving later that May. | ||
 | Album: 1 of 6 Title: Ginko Released: 2012-04-10 Tracks: 11 Duration: 43:59 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Ginko (03:09) 2 Ice (02:43) 3 The Pain for Your Pleasure (04:24) 4 Siren (05:50) 5 Sure as Night (03:24) 6 Into the Sea (03:47) 7 Sweet Dark-Haired Man (03:08) 8 Your Doll (04:30) 9 The Door (04:36) 10 Unbound (04:57) 11 By the Ohio (03:28) |
 | Album: 2 of 6 Title: Farthest Field Released: 2012-05-08 Tracks: 10 Duration: 30:30 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 First of August (04:30) 2 The Lengths (02:19) 3 We Two (03:10) 4 Hollow Heart (02:44) 5 To Be Lost Again (02:26) 6 Bright Water (01:19) 7 Farthest Field (03:41) 8 Cedar & Ash (02:41) 9 Sweetly By (04:22) 10 Would You Tell Me Your Dreams (03:13) |
 | Album: 3 of 6 Title: Electric Ursa Released: 2014-09 Tracks: 8 Duration: 32:35 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Something Small (04:50) 2 Rising Air (03:04) 3 First of August (05:08) 4 River Low (03:32) 5 Remedios (02:35) 6 Long Way to Night (04:15) 7 Moss & Marrow (04:17) 8 Electric Ursa (04:54) |
| Electric Ursa : Allmusic album Review : The second long-player from the Louisville-based singer/songwriter with one foot in the deep bluegrass of Kentucky and the other in the rocky crags of Laurel Canyon, Electric Ursa finds Joan Shelley, who resides somewhere between Joni Mitchell, Laura Marling, and Gillian Welch, recording in her hometown with My Morning Jacket and Andrew Bird producer Kevin Ratterman. Intimate, warm, and soulful, the album features eight evocative original songs, including "Something Small," "First of August, "Long Way to Night," and the languid title track. | ||
 | Album: 4 of 6 Title: Over and Even Released: 2015-09-04 Tracks: 12 Duration: 40:50 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Brighter Than The Blues (03:17) 2 Stay On My Shore (02:58) 3 Over And Even (04:06) 4 Not Over By Half (04:33) 5 Ariadne’s Gone (02:17) 6 No More Shelter (04:23) 7 Easy Now (03:41) 8 Lure And Line (01:53) 9 Jenny Come In (04:10) 10 Wine And Honey (02:44) 11 My Only Trouble (02:25) 12 Subtle Love (04:18) |
| Over and Even : Allmusic album Review : The third solo outing from the spell-casting Kentucky songstress, Over and Even is a breezy, lyrically bold, sonically beautiful soft barrage of bucolic country-folk that evokes Linda Thompson, Joni Mitchell, Vashti Bunyan, and Hem. It would be easy to peg Shelley and crafty six-string co-conspirator Nathan Salsburg as the Bluegrass States answer to Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, but they lack that duos trad-folk stridency and penchant for dust bowl pageantry, and their particular brand of mountain music feels much more rooted in the immigrant-rich Appalachian traditions, where a misty morning is just as likely to invoke fog rising over the Shannon or the Thames as it is the Mississippi. Recorded in an old farmhouse with very few takes, the 12-track set feels rooted but not rootsy. Highlights like "Brighter Than the Blues," "No More Shelter," "Stay on My Shore," and the hypnotic title track are as spectral as they are homey, due in large part to Shelleys unfussy, yet poetic lyrics and warm, open-hearted voice, which is easy like Sunday morning, but carries with it the burdens of the week prior. Salsburg peppers each of these songs with tasteful runs seasoned with generous amounts of reverb, and between the two, its a wonder that they manage to keep things from simply rising up out of the valley and into the ether, but like fellow Kentuckian Bonnie "Prince" Billy, who lends his high and lonesome croon to three of the quietly magnificent Over and Evens best cuts, theres a bold stroke of genial Southerness that runs through the music and keeps things tempered, honest, and effortlessly authentic, despite a predilection for eccentricity. | ||
 | Album: 5 of 6 Title: Joan Shelley Released: 2017-05-05 Tracks: 11 Duration: 34:02 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 We’d Be Home (03:06) 2 If the Storms Never Came (02:58) 3 Where I’ll Find You (03:14) 4 I Got What I Wanted (03:06) 5 Even Though (03:20) 6 I Didn’t Know (02:16) 7 Go Wild (03:11) 8 The Push and Pull (02:33) 9 Pull Me Up One More Time (03:26) 10 Wild Indifference (03:02) 11 Isn’t That Enough (03:46) |
| Joan Shelley : Allmusic album Review : The eponymous follow-up to 2015s lovely and understated Over and Even, Joan Shelley sees the Louisville, Kentucky-based singer/songwriter and her partner in crime Nathan Salsburg delivering a warm breeze of a record that unfolds like a curl of smoke from a damp bonfire. Recorded in Chicago with Wilcos Jeff Tweedy, the 11-track set is loose, yet never directionless, with melodies that are less stately, though no less comforting than those found on the albums predecessor -- Shelleys voice itself is a marvel of sonic palliation. The additions of frequent Tweedy collaborators Spencer Tweedy (drums) and James Elkington (guitar) to the recipe provide some tasty results, especially on the dark and bluesy "I Got What I Wanted," and "Where Ill Find You" and "If the Storms Never Came", the former a heartfelt love song teaming with nautical metaphors and the latter a salt spray-lined almost-shantey that wouldnt have sounded out of place on Fairport Conventions Liege & Lief. Even at her weariest and most wistful, Shelley exudes a steely pragmatism and a natural geniality that feel deeply rooted in the south -- "Ive been a chaser too long/aint it lonely," she reflects, on the languid single "Wild Indifference." That approachability extends to the music as well, with each note ringing true and unfettered, proving that just like their last outing together, its the interplay between Shelley and Salsburg -- imagine a less strident, bluegrass state version of David Rawlings and Gillian Welch -- that administers the bulk of the albums emotional heft. Its comfort food thats as nourishing as it is tasty. | ||
 | Album: 6 of 6 Title: Rivers and Vessels Released: 2018-03-18 Tracks: 6 Duration: 19:08 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Time Has Told Me (03:50) 2 Magnolia (01:57) 3 Pretty Little Miss (03:04) 4 The Bridge (02:09) 5 How Sad How Lovely (02:31) 6 Silver Whistle (05:37) |