World Cafe

Difficult Truths Best Whispered: Joan Shelley Sees The Beauty In The Fading

Joan Shelley tries to write about love like it's "something that's got its own motion and inevitabilities outside our own plans and desires and...

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by Stephen Kallao and John MyersDec, 17 2019 ()

"I think the hardest things for a person to hear are best delivered in quiet and loving tones," Joan Shelley says. "They might not be nice and loving sentiments, but they're best whispered." Image: Jamie Stow/WXPN

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Where a musician lives can tell you a lot about their songs. Joan Shelley wears her love of Kentucky proudly, but for her latest album, Like The River Loves The Sea, Shelley left her home outside of Louisville, Ky., and headed to a very different environment: Iceland.

Iceland presented its own opportunities and difficulties. Shelley found a wonderful string section that lends a lot of weight to the record, but apparently it's hard to find a banjo in Iceland. There may or may not be a single one in the whole country, but Shelley made the most of it with this beautiful and restrained album.

We'll talk to her and her musical partner, Nathan Salsburg, about recording in Iceland and the very powerful nature of natural love — and she'll perform live. Hear it all in the player above.

Set List

"Coming Down For You"
"The Fading"
"High On The Mountain"

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