Joan Shelley, Daughter of Swords
Stoughton Opera House 381 E. Main St., Stoughton, Wisconsin 53589
Amber Estes Thieneman
Joan Shelley
Singer-songwriter Joan Shelley’s Kentucky roots shine through on her latest album, Like the River Loves the Sea. Shelley describes the album, which was recorded over five days in Reykjavík, Iceland, as “a haven for overstimulated heads in uncertain times.” Though mostly gentle, the songs command attention with Shelley’s dulcet vocals, rich, warm guitar tone and heartfelt, poetic lyrics. She’ll be joined by Daughter of Swords, the solo project of Mountain Man’s Alexandra Sauser-Monnig.
press release: Joan Shelley will be at Stoughton Opera House on December 6. Her new album Like The River Loves The Sea will be released August 30 on No Quarter Records. Accompanying the announcement, Shelley offers a second song from the record, "Cycle," after "Coming Down For You" earned accolades from The New York Times, NPR Music, Rolling Stone, Stereogum, UPROXX, and others in June.
Watch the music video for "Cycle" (animation by Douglas Miller):
"Cycle" by Joan Shelley
Louisville-native Shelley recorded Like The River Loves The Sea over five days at Greenhaus Studios in Reykjavík, Iceland. The twelve songs, all written by Shelley, feature co-producer James Elkington and longtime guitarist Nathan Salsburg, along with Icelandic string players Þórdís Gerður Jónsdóttir and Sigrún Kristbjörg Jónsdóttir, and contributions from Bonnie "Prince" Billy and Maiden Radio. Shelley says of the collection:
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 title (which comes from a song by Si Kahn) speaks of the inevitable and at times indifferent nature of love. Whether it be a physical place or an idea, everyone needs a place of comfort. One where we can look out again from that place of calm and see how to best act and to be in an uncertain world.
About the recording locale, she told Uncut Magazine earlier this year, "Landscape has always had a strong effect on my imagination and the way I hear music. Similar to how different alcohols have different intoxicating effects on people. I'd heard that Iceland has such an otherworldly landscape…I wanted to see what it would be like to make music there, to make music under its influence."