I was listening to Louisville singer/songwriter Joan Shelley's new EP called Mood Ring when my wife walked into the room and stopped what she was doing. She said "Oh my god, I can feel the stress leaving my body just listening to her music. The sound of her voice is just...so pure." And she's right. It is. And that's the feeling you might get from listening, too.
Joan's new EP is a blissful experience sure to destress during these challenging and uncertain times. The lead and title track "Mood Ring" sets the tone with it's sparse instrumentation and the superb guitar playing of her longtime partner Nathan Salsburg. The album also features:
James Elkington - percussion, keys, bass, vocal harmony
Julia Purcell - harmonium
Lou Krippenstapel - violin
Jim Marlowe - Moog
Joan Shelley - acoustic and nylon string guitars, baritone ukulele, kalimba, piano, vocal harmony
In a statement from Joan on her Facebook page about the new album she said:
"We made a limited run of 12” transparent vinyl with etching and cover artwork by Mia Bergeron. I was stunned when I saw this painting, how it perfectly captured the tone of the title track.
You’re not going to hear a huge bunch of noise from me about this EP, though I value these five songs and am proud of the recordings (made at End of an Ear in Louisville, KY). It feels too strange, the random sample of tragedy and comedy and sales on social media, though it is helpful to me in my work and in connecting to you. I want to thank all the folks who worked on this album with me (you can check the liner notes on Bandcamp), and hope that it gently creeps around a few of your rooms, workshops, or firesides as we all try to do what we can to repair this tattered world… thank you for listening."
Thank you Joan Shelley for providing the soundtrack maybe we all need right now in this moment.
