The Fading is one of the most striking songs from Joan Shelleys new record, Like The River Loves The Sea, but not just because of the magnetic vocal melodies, the warm harmonies with Will Oldham or the powerful, stark string work. Its because theres a darkness to it. And that darkness is layered, ambiguous and ominous, but its also sort of optimistic that as things slip away, be grateful that they were there to begin with. In the face of disaster, pull together.
I guess I wouldnt see it as positivity as much as presence, Shelley said about the song. The way that a tornado striking the neighborhood makes the neighbors come out and ask each other what they need for the first time in maybe years.
The Fading is a song about collapse and working through it. Maybe thats a fractured relationship. Or an environmental disaster. Some of its open-ended. But, the final verse is pretty clear, when Shelley sings: And oh, Kentucky stays in my mind, its sweet to be five years behind. Thats where Ill be when the seas rise, holding my dear friends and drinking wine.
Theres a beauty to it, but its definitely not desirable, she said.
Like The River Loves The Sea is Shelleys fifth solo record, which was recorded in five days at Greenhouse Studios in Reykjavik, Iceland. The folk-leaning singer-songwriter recorded this album as an ode to her native Kentucky, but through the lens of traveling a lot contextualizing home, its meaning and its purpose, from a distance. And while being removed is a lyrical theme, it also applied to the instrumental aspects of the recording process.
We just kind of played with whatever was there, Shelley said of recording at Greenhouse. There wasnt a banjo. We couldnt find a banjo in Iceland, so we used one of the steel guitars from another musician on the island. We made do. It felt like a good limit to go to Iceland. Were on an island in the Atlantic Ocean and far from home. [We] got to look back at home, while not being within our habits.
Anyone who has spent almost any amount of time listening to Shelleys records wont be surprised to hear nature unravel as a theme. It makes her music evocative, and she uses it as a connective force, stringing reflection, relationships and doom into scenes of the outdoors. Shelley excels at using the complexities of nature to add nuance into several topics that she writes about, but, ultimately, she sees nature as something thats hopeful maybe not for the future of human existence, but for its resilience.
Nature is reassuring to me in the way that it will carry on in the face of a lot of the things that we do, Shelley said. When you see a strip mall overgrown, thats the best like a tree growing through one of the cracks in the sidewalk, or asphalt. Thats amazing.
From the albums opening song, Haven, Shelleys piercing vocals and agile poetry are on full display. But theres a lot of depth packed into these songs, added with the help of a lot of familiar faces and a couple of newcomers. Like The River Loves The Sea features longtime collaborator Nathan Salsburg on guitars, producer James Elkington on percussion, backing vocals from Will Oldham, Cheyenne Mize and Julia Purcell, as well as Iclandic sisters Þórdís Gerður Jónsdóttir and Sigrún Kristbjörg Jónsdóttir on strings. But, what continues to be Shelleys most impressive asset is her ability to create songs that are catchy and captivating, while also being unique and intricate. She said, through the years, shes challenged herself to never fall into the trap of having a consistent songwriting strategy.
My process over time was kind of pushing away from formula, but building song structures that felt free to me that felt true to me, Shelley said.
I still think of them as pretty wild songs, and Im trying to keep them wild, she continued.
Joan Shelleys Like The River Loves The Sea will be released via No Quarter Records on Friday, Aug. 30.
This article appears in August 28, 2019.
