Changes in emphasis and direction come with every new Joan Shelley album, so there isn’t any reason to believe that her forthcoming Like the River Loves the Sea record WON’T be another nodal one for her. Placed firmly at the forefront of a new school of singer-songwriters who makes albums that are timeless and placeless, Shelley’s mix of lyrics and music always provide big leaps of ambition and hope, trumping any wounded senses of loss or hopelessness.
Recorded over five days in Reykjavík and featuring co-producer James Elkington, guitarist Nathan Salsburg, and Icelandic string siblings Þórdís Gerður and Sigrún Kristbjörg Jónsdóttir (and guest spots by Bonnie “Prince” Billy and Maiden Radio), Like the River Loves the Sea highlights a growing poetic talent that evades and captures the mood of “these times.”
Speaking about the album, Shelley says:
Woven into the melodies and rhythms of these songs are fragments of the many musical traditions that comprise what we now call Kentucky music: Irish, British, and African to name a few. The best music would be a conversation with the divine that has seen all of it, or with the oldest trees that have witnessed the whole human story. These songs are partly that conversation, at times through the lens of lovers. They are also a longing cry born of all the dividing; a call across the slowly spreading ocean. Primarily, Like the River Loves the Sea is built as a haven for overstimulated heads in uncertain times.
The Douglas Miller-animated video for “Cycle” can be seen below, and it is nothing short of blissful. Like the River Loves the Sea is available on CD, LP, and DL via No Quarter on August 30 and can be pe-ordered here and here. TONS of upcoming tour dates are listed below too.
Like the River Loves the Sea tracklisting:
01. Haven
02. Coming Down For You
03. Teal
04. Cycle
05. When What It Is
06. The Fading
07. The Sway
08. Awake
09. Stay All Night
10. Tell Me Something
11. High On The Mountain
12. Any Day Now
Joan Shelley Tour Dates:
09.06.19-09.08.19 - Louisville, KY - Pete Fest
09.13.19 - Madisonville, KY - Glema Mahr Center For The Arts
09.27.19 - Denver, CO - The Walnut Room
09.28.19 - Fort Collins, CO - Elizabeth Hotel
09.29.19 - Colorado Springs, CO - Lulu’s
10.03.19 - Los Angeles, CA - Moroccan Lounge
10.09.19 - Sisters, OR - Suttle Lodge
10.10.19 - Portland, OR - Mississippi Studios
10.11.19 - Seattle, WA - Auditorium
10.12.19 - Bainbridge Island, WA - Treehouse Café
10.24.19 - Knoxville, TN - Open Chord #
10.25.19 - Nashville, TN - City Winery Loft
10.26.19 - Atlanta, GA - Eddie’s Attic #
10.27.19 - Asheville, NC - Ambrose West
10.29.19 - Charlotte, NC - Stage Door Theater #
10.30.19 - Carrboro, NC - Back Room #
11.01.19 - Roanoke, VA - Spot on Kirk #
11.02.19 - Lexington, KY - The Burl #
11.06.19 - Cincinnati, OH - Southgate House #
11.07.19 - Nelsonville, OH - Stuart’s #
11.08.19 - Thomas, WV - Purple Fiddle #
11.09.19 - Washington, DC - Jammin Java
11.10.19 - Charlottesville, VA - The Southern #
11.13.19 - Philadelphia, PA - Boot & Saddle #
11.14.19 - Brooklyn, NY - Park Church Co-Op
11.15.19 - Boston, MA - Cafe 939
11.16.19 - Woodstock, NY - Colony #
11.17.19 - Rochester, NY - Bop Shop Records #
11.19.19 - Toronto, ON - Drake
11.20.19 - Ann Arbor, MI - The Ark #
12.04.19 - St. Paul, MN - Turf Club
12.06.19 - Sheboygan, WI - Paradigm Coffee
12.06.19 - Stoughton, WI - Stoughton Opera House
12.07.19 - Milwaukee, WI - Collectivo Coffee
12.08.19 - Chicago, IL - Old Town School of Folk
# Jake Xerxes Fussell