Shelby Earl

Shelby Earl's "Swift Arrows" video opens with an ominous tone before immediately snapping into a bright doo-wop piano rhythm. Then Earl comes in with a tender voice, detailing the nastiness that happens after a split with a loved one. Between Earl's melancholia and the thunderous orchestra that rumbles across the song halfway through, it's equal parts Patsy Cline and Phil Spector. Meanwhile, the world's most disastrous (and surreal) wedding anniversary plays across the screen. It's shocking, horrific and just a little bit funny.

Soundtrack Suggestions for Zach Braff's 'Garden State' Follow-up

"'Swift Arrows' is about the experience of being hurt by someone you once trusted and coming out of it a warrior, rather than a victim," Earl tells Rolling Stone. "It's also about our very human desire for revenge and the inclination to fire 'swift arrows' at those who've caused us pain, rather than choosing to heal and move on. When Neil Ferron, the writer-director, and I met to discuss ideas for the video, we decided we wanted to tell the story of an absurdly painful life event that ends up being unexpectedly redemptive."

Earl quit her day job at Amazon to become a full-time musician four years ago. Judging by her themes, it would seem she's suffered her fair share of pain, but given "Swift Arrows," it might have been worth it.

Swift Arrows was self-released and is out now, and it will be released on vinyl on the Spark and Shine label on January 21st.
Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/videos/shelby-earl-comes-out-firing-in-swift-arrows-premiere-20131113#ixzz2lJZChbW5
Follow us: @rollingstone on Twitter | RollingStone on Facebook - Rolling Stone

Thursday at Pete’s
Hometown: Seattle
Shelby Earl knows a lot of different ways to punch you in the gut—not literally, although maybe…she looks like she could handle herself in a fight if she had to. Her songs are gorgeous, heartbreaking and extremely relatable. Her tune about some words of encouragement from her dad after she quit her job to pursue music full-time knocked me on my ass. TKO. —Bonnie Stiernberg - Paste Magazine

For the last several years, the going line on CMJ, the New York-based music festival that just wrapped its 33rd year this past Saturday, was that it had lost its reason for being. Much of its initial function — as a platform to introduce eager young bands to either media or industry or both — had long since been wrested from it by larger and more influential outlets — like Austin during South by Southwest, or Brooklyn on a weeknight. Over the last few years, bands like Alabama Shakes and Savages have arrived at CMJ not as hopefuls looking to use the festival to accelerate their success, but more as seasoned travelers saddled with a brief layover on an upward journey that was more or less predetermined. That news of a lawsuit that seemed to threaten the festival’s future hit the wires late into its first day was certainly no boon to its prestige.

In a strange way, though, being something of a punching bag for the last several years has almost given CMJ a kind of de facto identity — the underdog veteran still capable of a few surprises — and the lack of marquee starpower (the kind of big-name acts that have lately caused SXSW to take on a mild patina of soullessness) has forced it to refocus itself on bands still proudly sharpening their rough edges. This week, the best acts were the ones who subverted sleeker, more blandly palatable genres with either coy lyrics or blunt force.

These are the best bands we saw at CMJ:
#8. Shelby Earl
Shelby Earl also trafficked in country music, but her subversion came not in sound, but in lyrics. During a stunning early evening set at Pete’s Candy Store, she spun tales of disappointment — both romantic and professional — with just a bare acoustic guitar and her rich, smoky voice. Most artists suffer under such minimal treatment, but Earl’s songs are built on formidable melodies, and her lyrics are strewn with the kind of barbs that reward close listening. - eMusic

“Both her songwriting and performance are timeless, and there’s a distinct ‘crooner’ quality at work here. With Swift Arrows, Shelby Earl continues to explore the vast and seemingly unending resurrection of herself both as an artist and woman.”
Artist: Shelby Earl
Album: Swift Arrows
Genre: Americana / Dark Folk
RIYL: Rachael Yamagata, Tracyanne Campbell, Jenny Lewis, Patsy Cline

What do you get when you cross Damien Jurado, a BIG room, two finely tuned microphones and one seriously talented female who’s moved beyond burning boats? You get Swift Arrows, a poignant and roiling act of honesty from Seattle singer-songwriter Shelby Earl. Helmed by producer Jurado, the album was laid down in a short eight days using a throwback method of recording in the hope of pulling out a very candid performance: “Half the songs were recorded with just vocals and acoustic guitars (piano, drums, and other overdubs added later), and the other half were tracked with the full band playing live together in the room.”
This experiment of sorts brought out a raw and vulnerable performance from Earl, filled with ferocity, flaws and a dazzling energy that brings each song to life. The album opens with the pointed and direct “Swift Arrows,” which sounds so lilting and lovely while belying the tone with lyrics like “You’ll find one poison-tipped swift arrow in your mind / And they’ll find one poison-tipped swift arrow in their eye.” This is a common and highly-effective trick for Earl, whose lyrical content often contradicts an upbeat and sometimes even cheery melody. “The Artist” is both undeniably catchy locked in a 1950s-style groove and darkly humorous lyrics: “I’ll make the bed while you are off to shoot the moon. I love you, you love you, too.”
As much of a treat can be found in this type of dynamic opposition of tone and content, Earl stretches even further beyond this juxtaposition of humor as coping mechanism into even richer, more complex territory. “If It Isn’t You” is a standout track, slinking in and out of dark corners, employing a haunting cello and equally stunning vocals. “We Will Die” is another gem, a could-be anthem for anyone moving forward and looking to assert their place in the world. “The Seer” is a gorgeous torch of a song, building up with a slow and satisfying burn. “Sea of Glass,” “Blue Girl,” and the western-tinged “Grown Up Things” also provide highlights on an album that exhibits both versatility and cohesion in expressing themes of regret, romanticism and restoration.
The warm, amber tones of Earl’s voice harness a lush and lilting quality that make you want to keep listening over and over; it’s such a heartbreakingly beautiful sound, and feels both gentle and expansive all at once. Earl’s strength, however, lies in wrapping that warmth around lyrics that speak of experience and exhibit a hopeful sorrow. Both her songwriting and performance are timeless, and there’s a distinct “crooner” quality at work here. With Swift Arrows, Shelby Earl continues to explore the vast and seemingly unending resurrection of herself both as an artist and woman. Never is this promise more succinctly phrased than in “This Is Me Now” when Earl sings “if ever there was a revolutionized heart, it’s mine.” - IndieMusic.com

Shelby Earl
Swift Arrows
(CD Baby)
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Based on Shelby Earl’s 2011 debut, most listeners would categorize her as an indie-folk artist, albeit one with a distinctive, torchy voice and an innate sense of mood. Even her bio somewhat indiscriminately slaps the indie-folk tag on her. But the only thing indie on her sumptuous sophomore release is the record label and few hearing this album would consider it folk.

Instead, Earl smartly joined forces with Seattle hometown musician Damien Jurado as producer and with the basic tracks recorded live, the twosome have expanded her sound far beyond what most would have anticipated. The subtle strains of classic 60s pop that once lurked under the surface, nearly explode on the opening title track. Earl wraps her smoked amber voice around simple, retro piano chords that wouldn’t be out of place at a sock hop slow dance. Tubular bell chimes, strings and what sound like well-placed kettle drums ramp up the restrained drama on a song that never goes sonically overboard as it introduces us to what is to come. Castanets, backing vocals and a “Be My Baby” drum figure bring the Phil Spector vibe on “Sea of Glass” that with its live reverb, grabs hold and won’t let go. Tunes that begin with basic guitar accompaniment often blossom into full blown productions, a tactic that is not overused and consistently effective. Earl’s sense of humor blossoms in “The Artist,” another slice of girl group influenced pop, as she chides her boyfriend that “I love you/you love you too,” against a peppy beat. She’s just as convincing on achingly beautiful ballads such as the introspective “Mary,” a touching tune about a friend who picked her up after a devastating life change. The ghostly crushed velvet jazz blues of “Blue Girl” captures the lyrics’ creeping sense of sadness and danger.

There aren’t many traces of Earl’s one time indie-folk left, but with an album as powerful and moving as Swift Arrows, few will miss them. This is an invigorating, bold statement from a singer/songwriter and producer teaming up to reinforce each other’s talents and push themselves into new, exciting and refreshingly audacious territory. - American Songwriter

Shelby Earl insists she's not a country singer. Good luck with that. When you're name's Shelby Earl, you could perform nothing but Pointer Sisters covers and likely still get branded with a banjo; such a moniker earmarks you for a career spent evoking hay bales and wide-open spaces, whether you like it or not.

But, in truth, Shelby Earl is not a country artist, even if her rich, assertive voice is often--and accurately--compared to that of Neko Case. Yet Earl's devotion to traditional instrumentation, throwback harmonies, introspective songwriting and majestic melodies ought to make her plenty appealing to Americana fans.

"There's no shame in a hook," says Earl, over a beer and quesadilla at Hattie's Hat, an authentically retro Ballard Avenue bar formerly run by No Depression founder Kyla Fairchild (she still owns a small stake) that's nestled between Seattle's foremost boot-'n-buckle venues, the Tractor and Sunset Taverns. "I care about words. I think that's maybe where people are hearing the country influence."

Earl, whose own musical tastes favor the likes of Bjork and Rufus Wainwright, adds that she "was raised listening to singers. I can't stand the whispery girls right now--wannabe Ella Fitzgeralds." In fact, during a recent gig at the Sunset, a perpetually inebriated scenester expressed his gratitude for Earl's full-throated style. "I just want to thank you for singing!" he exclaimed, before launching into a deriding imitation of Earl's "frog-voiced" counterparts.

Earl split her childhood between Seattle and Los Angeles, where, while in junior and senior high school, she became an accomplished hip-hop dancer, of all things. She returned to the Emerald City to attend the University of Washington, and worked at at Amazon and other industry-side jobs before recently going "all in" as a full-time musician. Her 2011 debut, Burn the Boats, produced by Long Winters frontman John Roderick (who duets with Earl on the album's strongest track, "At the Start"), was extremely well-received, and her just-released sophomore effort, Swift Arrows, has been hailed as a step even further. While tracks like "The Seer" leave no doubt that Earl can rock, the album's strongest tunes--"Swift Arrows,""Sea of Glass" and "The Artist"--sound as though they've been recored at the desert church of doo-wop, with angelic female harmonies, rhythmic piano and acoustic guitar.

In September, Earl will embark upon a West Coast tour--with a detour to Tuscaloosa, where the well-known music critic Ann Powers has set up a house show for her (Powers' husband is on faculty at the University of Alabama; Earl will also play the Bottletree in Birmingham on Sep. 16 with Ben Sollee). So-called living-room shows have become an enjoyable and lucrative experience for artists like Earl, who marveled at the fact that 45 people would pay $20 a head to see her at someone's house in San Francisco.

"There are these communities of music lovers who want to have this experience with each other," says Earl of the hyper-intimate gigs, which she booked through the Illinois outfit Undertow Music. "Every show turns into a house party. Nobody wants to go to sleep." - No Depression

Another night of CMJ has come and gone, and this time the Paste team stuck to Brooklyn, hitting up showcases and bouncing from bar to bar in search of our next favorite band. Here are a few highlights from our Thursday evening.

Shelby Earl
Shelby Earl knows a lot of different ways to punch you in the gut—not literally, although maybe…she looks like she could handle herself in a fight if she had to. Her songs are gorgeous, heartbreaking and extremely relatable. Her tune about some words of encouragement from her dad after she quit her job to pursue music full-time knocked me on my ass. TKO. —Bonnie Stiernberg - Paste Magazine

If quitting her day job beforehand made Shelby Earl’s first album, 2011's “Burn the Boats,” an act of bravery, her latest is a startling display of vulnerability. “Swift Arrows” finds the Seattle singer and songwriter (who performs today and Saturday in conjunction with CMJ) baring her heart on songs that are introspective, sometimes lacerating and obviously deeply felt.

Produced by Damien Jurado and recorded live in a historic vaudeville theater, the album is starker and less varnished than its predecessor. Earl has a powerful, throaty voice, and she sings on “Swift Arrows” as though these 11 songs are a direct line to the deepest, most intimate parts of her soul. Maybe they are. She seeks to make sense of a convoluted relationship on “The Seer” over a rich bed of acoustic guitar, her voice building in intensity as electric guitars well up to take over the song. “This Is Me Now” is a sorry-not-sorry statement of self from someone who is determined to stand her ground this time, and Earl lets her voice ring out over a martial snare drum tattoo.

There are lighter moments on the album, too: “Sea of Glass” features buoyant piano and drums and a playful call-and-response that evokes a vintage girl-group sound, and Earl takes an arch tone on “The Artist,” a rueful love letter to a narcissist, accompanied by a sprinkling of piano and a hefty chorus of backing vocals. In the end, of course, Earl’s voice is the one that matters most here, and she sings on “Swift Arrows” with breathtaking assurance, even when it sounds like her heart is about to break.

Earl performs tonight, Oct. 17, at Riot Act Media’s CMJ happy hour, starting at 5 p.m.at Pete’s Candy Store, 708 Lorimer St., Brooklyn; and Saturday, Oct. 19, at Listen, Dammit’s day party, starting at noon at Skinny Dennis, 152 Metropolitan Ave., Brooklyn. - Listen, Dammit

From lyrical hip-hop to garage R&B, these three acts have what it takes to deliver our distinctly Seattle sound to the world.
SHELBY EARL: Shelby Earl knows how to write a sad, sad song. Heartache makes a regular appearance in her lyrics, yet she never smothers listeners in sorrow. With their warm, haunting vocals and country-swept guitar strumming, Earl’s ballads unpack the harsher realities of life and offer comfort. And people are starting to take notice.

Amazon named Earl’s debut album Burn the Boats, produced by the Long Winter’s John Roderick, the number one Outstanding 2011 Album You Might Have Missed. And Rolling Stone suggested that her song “Everyone Belongs to Someone” would be ideal for the soundtrack of filmmaker Zach Braff’s followup to Garden State. Death Cab for Cutie front man Ben Gibbard even messaged her through Twitter last year, out of the blue, and asked her to open a few of his solo shows.

The praise has emboldened Earl to take a risk on her second record, Swift Arrows, which won’t exactly be a spiritual sequel to the polished sounds of Burn the Boats. Earl brought in the godfather of Seattle’s singer-songwriter scene, Damien Jurado, to produce Swift Arrows in a throwback, bare-bones fashion. The bulk of the album was recorded live over two days last July at Columbia City Theater. The results are raw and authentic. “I think people’s ears are really used to hearing things very produced these days,” said Earl. Most songs were recorded in one or two takes, as Jurado sought the most “honest” sound over perfection. “We left flaws in,” she said. “There are a couple songs on the record where I actually sang the wrong lyrics and he was like, Too bad, that’s the keeper.” It was an exercise in trust for Earl, but she seems ecstatic with the results and hopeful for the future. “[My guitarist Eric Howk] said, ‘Here’s the good news, Shelby: Everything positive that’s happened so far has happened with almost nobody having heard of you. You’re headed in a good direction. All that can happen now is the ears multiply.’?” —SS

Who came before her
Damien Jurado, Brandi Carlile, David Bazan

New album
The self-released Swift Arrows is due out July 23.
- Seattle Metropolitan Magazine

"Everyone Belongs to Someone" by Shelby Earl
Lovely, gentle accompaniment to any journey of self-discovery, this Seattle singer-songwriter's tune is a natural fit for Aidan's necessary realization that he can't stay wrapped up solely in his own hopes and dreams. - Rolling Stone

Singer/songwriter Shelby Earl released one of the best albums to come out of the Northwest in 2011 with the John Roderick-produced Burn the Boats. Her wistful, affecting indie folk is representative of a growing trend in the Seattle music scene, but few do it better than Earl and her band. - Paste Magazine

Like the 10 in this list. They comprise the current heartbeat of Seattle, as identified by more than 50 music industry people from all over the Puget Sound—label owners, venue bookers, journalists, musicians, producers, promoters—that City Arts polled for their favorite new artists. The result is an all-star, must-hear spectrum we call Seattle Music Now. - City Arts Magazine

Shelby’s story is the sort of underdog tale that both inspires and restores faith for artist-wannabe office workers who think about trashing their steady gig and risking it all to pursue their dreams. Shelby spent her days at several arts related jobs in the Pacific Northwest, including stints at The Experience Music Project and as a music liaison at Amazon, but her true calling was song craft and performing. “To be totally honest, I was pretty unhappy those last couple years doing the 9-5,” Earl told Spinner, so she quit, threw herself into writing and caught the attention of two heavyweights on the indie music scene: John Roderick, lead singer of The Long Winters, who went on to produce Shelby’s collection of tunes, and Rachel Flotard, the can-do powerhouse behind Visqueen who also runs Local 638 Records. Her debut, Burn the Boats quickly gained support from Earl’s long time acquaintance, Ann Powers (NPR/LA Times) who passionately wrote “… I don’t want this record to get lost in the avalanche of releases that confronts every critic and music fan…Burn the Boats is an album beyond trends, a classic work of singer-songwriterly craft and beautifully framed confession.” Praise for Earl poured in from other outlets as NPR made At the Start the song of the day and Seattle Weekly dubbed the same track as “…an early frontrunner for best song put out by any artist in 2011.” To cap off this feel good story, Burn the Boats snagged the number one spot on her former employers’ (Amazon) “Outstanding 2011 Albums You Might Have Missed” list. Be sure to visit Shelby’s site for tour dates, to join her Facebook page and more. - Rocktorch.com

Shelby’s story is the sort of underdog tale that both inspires and restores faith for artist-wannabe office workers who think about trashing their steady gig and risking it all to pursue their dreams. Shelby spent her days at several arts related jobs in the Pacific Northwest, including stints at The Experience Music Project and as a music liaison at Amazon, but her true calling was song craft and performing. “To be totally honest, I was pretty unhappy those last couple years doing the 9-5,” Earl told Spinner, so she quit, threw herself into writing and caught the attention of two heavyweights on the indie music scene: John Roderick, lead singer of The Long Winters, who went on to produce Shelby’s collection of tunes, and Rachel Flotard, the can-do powerhouse behind Visqueen who also runs Local 638 Records. Her debut, Burn the Boats quickly gained support from Earl’s long time acquaintance, Ann Powers (NPR/LA Times) who passionately wrote “… I don’t want this record to get lost in the avalanche of releases that confronts every critic and music fan…Burn the Boats is an album beyond trends, a classic work of singer-songwriterly craft and beautifully framed confession.” Praise for Earl poured in from other outlets as NPR made At the Start the song of the day and Seattle Weekly dubbed the same track as “…an early frontrunner for best song put out by any artist in 2011.” To cap off this feel good story, Burn the Boats snagged the number one spot on her former employers’ (Amazon) “Outstanding 2011 Albums You Might Have Missed” list. Be sure to visit Shelby’s site for tour dates, to join her Facebook page and more. - Rocktorch.com

It pains us when great records go unheard. While we can't protect all of them, we make an attempt to rescue 50 of our favorite hidden 2011 gems in our list of outstanding 2011 albums you might have missed (CDs | MP3s). To aid your discovery, we've assembled a playlist featuring a favorite song from each. Hit preview all and dig for more when you've found a new favorite. - Amazon.com

I often find myself looking to veteran music critic Ann Powers, in matters of taste and prose. On the topic of Seattle songwriter Shelby Earl, I'll take a quote straight from her: "Over the years I’ve become friendly with a few musicians... In general, though, I’ve clung to that old idea that critical perspective and personal connection don’t mix. Until now. I’m writing this note to ask you to listen to an album by a friend."

I met Earl through mutual friends years ago, and it's been a thrill to see her successes this year. She released "Burn the Boats" this year through Immaculate Noise favorite Rachel Flotard's Local 638 Records label, the album featuring John Roderick of the Long Winters. The alt-country artist brings the same amount of heart and bits of sentimentality into new holiday track "This Christmas Is For Us."....
Earl's charming voice makes me think of what would happen should Lisa Hannigan sing Josh Ritter songs. This particular acoustic track has a little extra burn on it with strong folk harmonies, enough to light that tree you keep meaning to decorate. Now, at least, you have the soundtrack.

And congrats to Shelb for topping the "Outstanding 2011 Albums You Might Have Missed" list on Amazon, the same company where she formerly worked as a liaison between label and the storefront. Holly jolly all around. - Hitfix.com

Amazon put out a list of "Outstanding 2011 Albums You May Have Missed" and nine of Seattle's most talented artists crop up throughout, including Shelby Earl at number one. We'd like to mention that Head and the Heart is nowhere to be found, which, as much as we love those guys, is a refreshing change. - Seattlest.com

Shelby recently released her 2011 album Burn the Boats, earning praise from critics across the nation. Her latest bio is actually a letter written by acclaimed Pacific NW-born pop music journalist Ann Powers, who was inspired by the music on this new project as well as Earl’s overall career.

It’s safe to say that I automatically feel connected to Shelby, so reading her contribution to UrbLife.com’s Run This Town has made me incredibly homesick. No time for all that though! Let’s get down to Shelby Earl’s Top 7 spots you must visit in The Emerald City! - URBLife

"Outstanding 2011 Albums You Might Have Missed" - Shelby Earl - Burn the Boats #1 - Amazon.com

A Fine, Fine Flaming Feast

With songs that transcend trends and musical boundaries, Shelby Earl’s Burn the Boats is a fine example of a singer-songwriter who has honed her craft to a fine point and whose songs are both touching and inspiring.

Earl eschews poses and posturing, and instead gets down to delivering a dynamic series of songs, beginning with “22 (You’ve Got Me Undone)” and closing with “Burn The Boats Pt. 1” some 30 minutes later. Joined by a cast that includes the mighty John Roderick (Long Winters) in the production chair (and playing a fair number of instruments throughout) plus his bandmate Eric Corson (in the engineering department), the Seattle songwriter frequently calls to mind the weather-beaten souls of the Great Plains and the world gnarled hearts of the Southwest. The music is that spare, that haunting.

“22 (You’ve Got Me Undone)” may be the closest Earl comes to sounding like Neko Case, an artist she’s endured past comparisons to, but there’s a greater sense of classic country coursing through Earl’s veins that has more in common with Rodney Crowell’s songwriting and Roseanne Cash’s singing than might first seem evident. From there the record and the songs become increasingly spare; “Legend of Persephone” could never be accused of being overstuffed with production and instrumentation, and “Everyone Belongs to Someone” was clearly written and performed by an artist who has set foot in a honky-tonk.

By “Distant Rooms”, Earl’s voice and the instruments supporting it become ghostlike, faint spectres that ease from end to end. In those moments, she has more in common with classic artists such as Nanci Griffith and Emmylou Harris than she does the majority of her peers. It’s refreshing to hear a voice steeped in that earlier tradition and an artist unafraid to let her songs and singing remain so unadorned. “Pacific Love” is equally understated, with Earl’s voice at the fore, then gentle guitar touches from both she and Roderick just below that. A string quartet is the finishing touch on the track but it never calls attention to itself the way that such touches tend to in the world of overblown pop.

“At The Start”, a duet with Roderick may be the album’s crowning moment – his voice never having sounded as haunting as it does here, hers blending amazingly well with his. Although the lyrics are as fine as anything else here, they almost don’t matter – these two sound so good together they could be singing about cat toys and shampoo and still making it sound like pressing matters of the heart.

Burn The Boats may not find Earl the widest possible audience but it may very well find her a more refined and appreciative one. This is a record that reveals itself slowly, requiring deep and thoughtful listening on par with the deep and thoughtful performances that brought these 11 songs to life. Here’s to hearing many more records from Shelby Earl, an artist who doubtless has many more amazing songs and performances to share with us, just as we have deep and rapt appreciation to share with her.
Rating: 8/10 - Pop Matters

I'm always happy to hear from a lady with a potent voice, and Seattle's Shelby Earl combines the vulnerability of Patsy Cline with the lung power of Star Anna, another Local 638 signing (Visqueen's Rachel Flotard founded the label).

Stream four tracks here.

John Roderick of the Long Winters produced Earl's debut, which features past and present members of the Fleet Foxes and the Head and the Heart, and it's a solid piece of work (Roderick also sings a duet). NPR Music's Ann Powers, a former Seattle resident, doesn't usually get involved with publicity campaigns, but she made an exception for Earl, offering the following statement on her behalf:

Shelby Earl is a singer-songwriter with a sharp pen and a sumptuous voice. Shelby was part of one of the intimate circles that make up the necklace of strong women who stand behind—and at the forefront of—the Seattle music scene. Burn the Boats is an album beyond trends, a classic work of singer-songwriterly craft and beautifully framed confession. It's a fully adult expression of lessons learned, loss absorbed, and hope rebuilt, plank by plank. That urgency comes through in the album's 10 gorgeous songs. Shelby is still young, but she's not a bubbly ingénue. She makes music for those of us who've been through a few things. - The Stranger

"This beautifully crafted debut from Seattle songstress Earl (no relation to Steve) manages to be both intimate and sprawling in its shimmering, often mysterious chamber pop." - American Songwriter

"This beautifully crafted debut from Seattle songstress Earl (no relation to Steve) manages to be both intimate and sprawling in its shimmering, often mysterious chamber pop." - American Songwriter

"the blooming Seattle folk starlet released her debut album, Burn the Boats, to widespread critical acclaim..." - Songfacts.com

Shelby Earl Bolts Music-Biz Day Job to 'Kick Ass' as a Solo Artist - Spinner.com

"After the Long Winters closed the front-to-back coverage of Nevermind with a haunting and harrowing rendition of "Something’s in the Way," a parade of seasoned locals offered up an encore set of non-Nevermind selections, including the ageless Young Fresh Fellows rollicking take on "About a Girl," and singer-songwriter Shelby Earl cutting out every anguished and beautiful facet of "All Apologies" with heart-wrenching grace." - Rolling Stone

It's release day for Seattle singer/songwriter/sweetheart Shelby Earl, who enlisted Reverb columnist/Long Winters frontman John Roderick to produce her new record, Burn the Boats. Earl was kind enough to give Reverb readers a free listen to the entire record (after the jump) and some insight into what it's like to work with a shit-talking, Tweet-loving, "producer"-scorning guy like Roderick.
Here's what she said:

So did John do anything other than tweet in the studio?

Um. He definitely did some tweeting. He sort of had two different speeds. When he put the phone down, he was in. He was completely in. He has this sort of crazy ability I haven't seen before--to unhinge his brain and leave out all the overthinking and just go with ideas. It was really, really fun.

Did he add any waves, ocean noises, or motorcycles?

No, he didn't. But the first day we went into the studio . . . the very first song we opened up to work on, he said, "Hey, Eric, given me a mike at the organ." He started playing this organ sound, totally sci-fi, that had nothing to do with the song. I was like, "No, this is not a John Vanderslice record!" And he was like, "No, no, no, just let me try stuff. " He was not heavy-handed at all. Again, he just heard stuff that I wouldn't have heard.

Did the organ make the album?

It did, in the fourth track, Smoke Goes Clearing. It almost sounds like a flute, but it's an organ.

You're being very nice, Shelby. But John's all about shit-talking. Give me something!

I will say, he kept trying to get me to pull his finger. Professionally, he's going to have to work on that front. - Seattle Weekly: Reverb

It's release day for Seattle singer/songwriter/sweetheart Shelby Earl, who enlisted Reverb columnist/Long Winters frontman John Roderick to produce her new record, Burn the Boats. Earl was kind enough to give Reverb readers a free listen to the entire record (after the jump) and some insight into what it's like to work with a shit-talking, Tweet-loving, "producer"-scorning guy like Roderick.
Here's what she said:

So did John do anything other than tweet in the studio?

Um. He definitely did some tweeting. He sort of had two different speeds. When he put the phone down, he was in. He was completely in. He has this sort of crazy ability I haven't seen before--to unhinge his brain and leave out all the overthinking and just go with ideas. It was really, really fun.

Did he add any waves, ocean noises, or motorcycles?

No, he didn't. But the first day we went into the studio . . . the very first song we opened up to work on, he said, "Hey, Eric, given me a mike at the organ." He started playing this organ sound, totally sci-fi, that had nothing to do with the song. I was like, "No, this is not a John Vanderslice record!" And he was like, "No, no, no, just let me try stuff. " He was not heavy-handed at all. Again, he just heard stuff that I wouldn't have heard.

Did the organ make the album?

It did, in the fourth track, Smoke Goes Clearing. It almost sounds like a flute, but it's an organ.

You're being very nice, Shelby. But John's all about shit-talking. Give me something!

I will say, he kept trying to get me to pull his finger. Professionally, he's going to have to work on that front. - Seattle Weekly: Reverb

Every Monday through Friday, we deliver a different song as part our Song of the Day podcast subscription. This podcast features exclusive KEXP in-studio performances, unreleased songs, and recordings from independent artists that our DJs think you should hear. Each and every Friday we offer songs by local artists. Today’s selection, featured on the Afternoon Show with Kevin Cole, is “Under Evergreen” by Shelby Earl from her self-released album Burn the Boats.

Shelby Earl – Under Evergreen (MP3)
This week everyone in town has SXSW on the brain and there’s clearly a lot of love and support going out to the more than 40 Seattle artists as they hit the road for Austin. One of these artists is songstress Shelby Earl whose debut album is striking chords with fans and critics alike. Earl, a long-time member of the music community, didn’t write her first song until she was 29 always having been behind the scenes supporting other artist’s careers. When she finally took her turn under the spotlight it was as one half of the duo The Hope, but is now embarking on a solo career –one that has a lot of help from friends and collaborators including members of The Long Winters, SHIM, Telekinesis, (former) Fleet Foxes, The Maldives and many other local artists. Burn the Boats was recorded over several months with producers John Roderick and Eric Corson who helped guide Earl in her first effort and was funded in part by a successful Kickstarter campaign. The result is a collection of songs deeply biographical and narrative in style that Earl claims are “a true reflection of where I’ve been and of where I’m headed.” From the opening note on today’s song “Under Evergreen,” you hear the power and raw emotion seen throughout Earl’s album and the vulnerable beauty of her lyrics and melodies.

Folks down in Austin this week can catch Earl at STAG’s Rock and Roll Circus South at Zax w/ Brite Futures, STAG, Cobirds Unite, The Young Evils, James Apollo & Kasey Anderson tonight, 3/18, and the 3 Continents Day party at Mellow Johnny’s Bike Shop on 3/19. Her next Seattle area show is STAG’s Rock and Roll Circus on 4/16 at Darell’s Tavern. More dates and info on her MySpace page and you can check out more tracks on her Bandcamp site.

In the meantime, here she is performing “At the Start” with Burn the Boats producer John Roderick at her CD release party earlier this month. - KEXP.org

Every Monday through Friday, we deliver a different song as part our Song of the Day podcast subscription. This podcast features exclusive KEXP in-studio performances, unreleased songs, and recordings from independent artists that our DJs think you should hear. Each and every Friday we offer songs by local artists. Today’s selection, featured on the Afternoon Show with Kevin Cole, is “Under Evergreen” by Shelby Earl from her self-released album Burn the Boats.

Shelby Earl – Under Evergreen (MP3)
This week everyone in town has SXSW on the brain and there’s clearly a lot of love and support going out to the more than 40 Seattle artists as they hit the road for Austin. One of these artists is songstress Shelby Earl whose debut album is striking chords with fans and critics alike. Earl, a long-time member of the music community, didn’t write her first song until she was 29 always having been behind the scenes supporting other artist’s careers. When she finally took her turn under the spotlight it was as one half of the duo The Hope, but is now embarking on a solo career –one that has a lot of help from friends and collaborators including members of The Long Winters, SHIM, Telekinesis, (former) Fleet Foxes, The Maldives and many other local artists. Burn the Boats was recorded over several months with producers John Roderick and Eric Corson who helped guide Earl in her first effort and was funded in part by a successful Kickstarter campaign. The result is a collection of songs deeply biographical and narrative in style that Earl claims are “a true reflection of where I’ve been and of where I’m headed.” From the opening note on today’s song “Under Evergreen,” you hear the power and raw emotion seen throughout Earl’s album and the vulnerable beauty of her lyrics and melodies.

Folks down in Austin this week can catch Earl at STAG’s Rock and Roll Circus South at Zax w/ Brite Futures, STAG, Cobirds Unite, The Young Evils, James Apollo & Kasey Anderson tonight, 3/18, and the 3 Continents Day party at Mellow Johnny’s Bike Shop on 3/19. Her next Seattle area show is STAG’s Rock and Roll Circus on 4/16 at Darell’s Tavern. More dates and info on her MySpace page and you can check out more tracks on her Bandcamp site.

In the meantime, here she is performing “At the Start” with Burn the Boats producer John Roderick at her CD release party earlier this month. - KEXP.org

When discussing the supportive and collaborative nature of Seattle’s music community, Burn the Boats, singer-songwriter Shelby Earl’s beautiful debut album (released March 8), is a prime example. The collaborators she’s worked with on the long process of completing her album could carve out its own space on the Seattle Band Map. Somewhere through the process of finishing the album, she’s worked with members of SHIM, The Maldives, Michael Lerner of Telekinesis, former Fleet Fox Bryn Lumsden, producers like Martin Feveyear, Ben Kersten and recent Grammy winner Kory Kruckenberg and credits Long Winters John Roderick and Eric Corson with helping steer the album towards its completion, with Roderick producing the album. Of working with Roderick and Corson, she said in an interview over breakfast last weekend, “We worked so well together. I thought John was going to be a little bit of a bulldozer because I told him I was uncertain of which way I wanted to go, but he was incredibly respectful - but also had an imagination that was totally wide open.” Moreover, she added, “He and Eric will let ideas flow in the studio for way longer than I’ve ever experienced.” The album was recorded piecemeal over a long period of several months and she said, “I’ll never make another record this way again, but I absolutely love where it ended up.”

She should be. Her album is a collection of eleven songs that showcase a naturally gifted singer and songwriter. When talking to Earl, she talked a lot about learning about writing songs and learning her instruments: she was half of the duo The Hope with songwriter/composer Katie Freeze. Of the partnership, she told me, “I really wanted to grow in that direction [as a songwriter], but as a band, we were a band with that structure in place. I was a singer and she was a songwriter.” When talking with Earl, she often mentions her the lessons she took to learn guitar or treating writing songs as learning exercises, and she told Seattle Weekly writer (and my friend) Litsa Dremousis last fall that “I wrote my first song at 29 or 30” (she’s not much older today) but the finished songs on Burn the Boats are fully realized songs, most often with complete, first person or autobiographical narrative stories.

Her voice is reminiscent of what Neko Case might sound like if the part-time New Pornographer didn’t want to overpower every listener with the strength of it. Earl’s harmonies sound like she’s singing to you directly, though making little effort to hide any vulnerability. The beauty of her voice is all the more explicit when contrasted nicely with the understated simplicity of the acoustic guitar sounds she sings over. Part of what makes the album feel intimate and personal is that nearly all of Earl’s songs are autobiographical in one way or another. She gave one exception on her album, which was the song “Beloved”. She explained it’s inspiration came from when “I was looking at the relationships around me and I thought ‘men are working overtime to please their women and the women aren’t acknowledging it’. The dudes aren’t getting credit for how hard they’re trying. I saw a lot of female friends and family be kind of ballbusters and I would think ‘but he’s trying so hard, he might be failing but he’s trying’. I was imagining an apology from a woman to her man and her say, ‘it’s okay; you’re enough.’”

Although Earl’s songs rely on a consistently narrative storytelling, she doesn’t consider herself a country musician. She told me in our interview (when I asked what she found appealing about the genre), “I don’t listen to country music and I have fought tooth and nail with people calling it country music. Everyone says ‘well, Shelby, it’s totally country music’ and it’s totally not. I hear the Americana stuff, so there is that. I’m baffled but also fascinated. I thought I was writing three-chord folk songs.” Her music is much different from what you might hear on commercial radio directly from Nashville, but it’s still not difficult to see a straight line from an artist like Loretta Lynn to Shelby Earl with the empathy and honesty in their words, regardless of whether a banjo or pedal steel guitar is present (for the record, on Burn the Boats, it’s no and yes). More simply, in her own words, she writes she’s “a Seattle-based, independent musician with a deep commitment to simple, beautiful songs, sung from the heart.” That works nicely, thank you very much.

Whether she is classified as a folk or country singer should be immaterial – and only done by self-described music snobs and those who believe country and western is “both kinds of music” – but during our interview, I was able to figure out why I, a usually pop-focused writer, found her music so appealing. When asked about her songwriting, she said “The main way I write is with a lyrical idea first. I usually start with a chorus. Ben Kersten said I have the opposite problem as other songwriters because I always have a chorus first - AnotherRainySaturday.com

When discussing the supportive and collaborative nature of Seattle’s music community, Burn the Boats, singer-songwriter Shelby Earl’s beautiful debut album (released March 8), is a prime example. The collaborators she’s worked with on the long process of completing her album could carve out its own space on the Seattle Band Map. Somewhere through the process of finishing the album, she’s worked with members of SHIM, The Maldives, Michael Lerner of Telekinesis, former Fleet Fox Bryn Lumsden, producers like Martin Feveyear, Ben Kersten and recent Grammy winner Kory Kruckenberg and credits Long Winters John Roderick and Eric Corson with helping steer the album towards its completion, with Roderick producing the album. Of working with Roderick and Corson, she said in an interview over breakfast last weekend, “We worked so well together. I thought John was going to be a little bit of a bulldozer because I told him I was uncertain of which way I wanted to go, but he was incredibly respectful - but also had an imagination that was totally wide open.” Moreover, she added, “He and Eric will let ideas flow in the studio for way longer than I’ve ever experienced.” The album was recorded piecemeal over a long period of several months and she said, “I’ll never make another record this way again, but I absolutely love where it ended up.”

She should be. Her album is a collection of eleven songs that showcase a naturally gifted singer and songwriter. When talking to Earl, she talked a lot about learning about writing songs and learning her instruments: she was half of the duo The Hope with songwriter/composer Katie Freeze. Of the partnership, she told me, “I really wanted to grow in that direction [as a songwriter], but as a band, we were a band with that structure in place. I was a singer and she was a songwriter.” When talking with Earl, she often mentions her the lessons she took to learn guitar or treating writing songs as learning exercises, and she told Seattle Weekly writer (and my friend) Litsa Dremousis last fall that “I wrote my first song at 29 or 30” (she’s not much older today) but the finished songs on Burn the Boats are fully realized songs, most often with complete, first person or autobiographical narrative stories.

Her voice is reminiscent of what Neko Case might sound like if the part-time New Pornographer didn’t want to overpower every listener with the strength of it. Earl’s harmonies sound like she’s singing to you directly, though making little effort to hide any vulnerability. The beauty of her voice is all the more explicit when contrasted nicely with the understated simplicity of the acoustic guitar sounds she sings over. Part of what makes the album feel intimate and personal is that nearly all of Earl’s songs are autobiographical in one way or another. She gave one exception on her album, which was the song “Beloved”. She explained it’s inspiration came from when “I was looking at the relationships around me and I thought ‘men are working overtime to please their women and the women aren’t acknowledging it’. The dudes aren’t getting credit for how hard they’re trying. I saw a lot of female friends and family be kind of ballbusters and I would think ‘but he’s trying so hard, he might be failing but he’s trying’. I was imagining an apology from a woman to her man and her say, ‘it’s okay; you’re enough.’”

Although Earl’s songs rely on a consistently narrative storytelling, she doesn’t consider herself a country musician. She told me in our interview (when I asked what she found appealing about the genre), “I don’t listen to country music and I have fought tooth and nail with people calling it country music. Everyone says ‘well, Shelby, it’s totally country music’ and it’s totally not. I hear the Americana stuff, so there is that. I’m baffled but also fascinated. I thought I was writing three-chord folk songs.” Her music is much different from what you might hear on commercial radio directly from Nashville, but it’s still not difficult to see a straight line from an artist like Loretta Lynn to Shelby Earl with the empathy and honesty in their words, regardless of whether a banjo or pedal steel guitar is present (for the record, on Burn the Boats, it’s no and yes). More simply, in her own words, she writes she’s “a Seattle-based, independent musician with a deep commitment to simple, beautiful songs, sung from the heart.” That works nicely, thank you very much.

Whether she is classified as a folk or country singer should be immaterial – and only done by self-described music snobs and those who believe country and western is “both kinds of music” – but during our interview, I was able to figure out why I, a usually pop-focused writer, found her music so appealing. When asked about her songwriting, she said “The main way I write is with a lyrical idea first. I usually start with a chorus. Ben Kersten said I have the opposite problem as other songwriters because I always have a chorus first - AnotherRainySaturday.com

Shelby Earl has a delightful new album titled Burn The Boats. Produced by John Roderick, it features a musician's musician's party full of guest stars, supporting players, and exotic extras, who help make the eleven-track after-hours roadhouse opera a sweet whisper in your ears throughout. Opening tracks "22 (You've Got Me Undone)" and "Legend of Persephone" put Earl at Neko Case / Rachel Flotard level, and the rest of Burn The Boats continues to glow and flicker upon the waves of your, um, listening device.

Speaking of Flotard, this Friday, March 4, 2011, at 9 PM, she'll be playing the same night that Earl will be veil-dancing her new songs, peeling them off for fans at the Tractor among the many others who contributed to the new full length. To quote Shelby herself:

"We will be celebrating the last show for the amazing Rusty Willoughby and Rachel Flotard of Cobirds Unite before they head off to Austin for SXSW. They will also be joined by Bloodshot Rec's Maggie Bjorklund on pedal steel! And another night of general awesomeness for Ballard's own Jason Dodson (of the Maldives) and friends."

I have the feeling tickets for this event are going to sell like wooden matches to campers, so here's a shortcut to getting yours timely-like. - ThreeImaginaryGirls.com

Shelby Earl has a delightful new album titled Burn The Boats. Produced by John Roderick, it features a musician's musician's party full of guest stars, supporting players, and exotic extras, who help make the eleven-track after-hours roadhouse opera a sweet whisper in your ears throughout. Opening tracks "22 (You've Got Me Undone)" and "Legend of Persephone" put Earl at Neko Case / Rachel Flotard level, and the rest of Burn The Boats continues to glow and flicker upon the waves of your, um, listening device.

Speaking of Flotard, this Friday, March 4, 2011, at 9 PM, she'll be playing the same night that Earl will be veil-dancing her new songs, peeling them off for fans at the Tractor among the many others who contributed to the new full length. To quote Shelby herself:

"We will be celebrating the last show for the amazing Rusty Willoughby and Rachel Flotard of Cobirds Unite before they head off to Austin for SXSW. They will also be joined by Bloodshot Rec's Maggie Bjorklund on pedal steel! And another night of general awesomeness for Ballard's own Jason Dodson (of the Maldives) and friends."

I have the feeling tickets for this event are going to sell like wooden matches to campers, so here's a shortcut to getting yours timely-like. - ThreeImaginaryGirls.com

?Upon first hearing Shelby Earl's album, Burn the Boats, about a month ago, I boldly declared "At the Start," her duet with producer/Long Winters frontman/Reverb columnist John Roderick, to be "an early frontrunner for best song put out by any artist in 2011."
After writing that, I worried that my reaction might have been a tad hyperbolic. Well, I'm not worried anymore: NPR just named "At the Start" its song of the day (if not the year).

Says NPR: "An ode to the end of an affair, 'At the Start' finds Earl sounding defiantly triumphant, with Roderick dropping his guard to play the crestfallen. 'We're right where we've always been,' they sing together, adding, 'At the start, we could see the end.' It's the one who got away and the one who got left behind, singing together beautifully in just one highlight from Earl's warm, wonderful new record."

Oddly, the way NPR frames it makes me think of it as the alt-country cousin to Tim McGraw and Gwyneth Paltrow's sensational "Me & Tennessee," the best song off a great soundtrack to a not-as-bad-as-critics-made-it-seem movie (Country Strong). Earl, not Paltrow, will be playing this coming Tuesday at Fremont Abbey before joining Stag's Rock 'n Roll Circus at Darrell's Tavern on Saturday, April 16. - Seattle Weekly

?Upon first hearing Shelby Earl's album, Burn the Boats, about a month ago, I boldly declared "At the Start," her duet with producer/Long Winters frontman/Reverb columnist John Roderick, to be "an early frontrunner for best song put out by any artist in 2011."
After writing that, I worried that my reaction might have been a tad hyperbolic. Well, I'm not worried anymore: NPR just named "At the Start" its song of the day (if not the year).

Says NPR: "An ode to the end of an affair, 'At the Start' finds Earl sounding defiantly triumphant, with Roderick dropping his guard to play the crestfallen. 'We're right where we've always been,' they sing together, adding, 'At the start, we could see the end.' It's the one who got away and the one who got left behind, singing together beautifully in just one highlight from Earl's warm, wonderful new record."

Oddly, the way NPR frames it makes me think of it as the alt-country cousin to Tim McGraw and Gwyneth Paltrow's sensational "Me & Tennessee," the best song off a great soundtrack to a not-as-bad-as-critics-made-it-seem movie (Country Strong). Earl, not Paltrow, will be playing this coming Tuesday at Fremont Abbey before joining Stag's Rock 'n Roll Circus at Darrell's Tavern on Saturday, April 16. - Seattle Weekly

It doesn't seem right to make a big deal out of John Roderick's presence on Seattle singer-songwriter Shelby Earl's twangily angst-ridden new album, Burn the Boats. Sure, the Long Winters frontman produces the record — and functions as a low-key, secondary duet partner in the languidly gorgeous "At the Start" — but this is Earl's show all the way. Still, if his role brings attention to Earl's sweetly sour sound, then so be it.

An ode to the end of an affair, "At the Start" finds Earl sounding defiantly triumphant, with Roderick dropping his guard to play the crestfallen. "We're right where we've always been," they sing together, adding, "At the start, we could see the end." It's the one who got away and the one who got left behind, singing together beautifully in just one highlight from Earl's warm, wonderful new record. - NPR

It doesn't seem right to make a big deal out of John Roderick's presence on Seattle singer-songwriter Shelby Earl's twangily angst-ridden new album, Burn the Boats. Sure, the Long Winters frontman produces the record — and functions as a low-key, secondary duet partner in the languidly gorgeous "At the Start" — but this is Earl's show all the way. Still, if his role brings attention to Earl's sweetly sour sound, then so be it.

An ode to the end of an affair, "At the Start" finds Earl sounding defiantly triumphant, with Roderick dropping his guard to play the crestfallen. "We're right where we've always been," they sing together, adding, "At the start, we could see the end." It's the one who got away and the one who got left behind, singing together beautifully in just one highlight from Earl's warm, wonderful new record. - NPR

Folk-tinged singer/songwriter Shelby Earl is creating a whirlwind inside Top Pot's Capitol Hill locale, but so far all she's done is order a chocolate-coconut donut and an Americano. KEXP's Kurt Reighley drops by to give her a personally inscribed copy of his new book on Americana. The Long Winters' Eric Corson, who has contributed to Earl's upcoming disc, happens to wander in and greets her joyfully. Patrons turn from their laptops, curious why the woman with chestnut bangs and dangling rhinestone earrings is generating so much attention. Perhaps it's time Earl gets used to being noticed. - Seattle Weekly

Seattle-based Shelby Earl once led a high-powered music career, working for EMP, Wind-Up Records and Amazon. But she took the plunge most artists just talk about when she turned down a position at a major New York label to record her own album while waitressing on the side. She plans to release that, her first solo record, later this year, featuring collaborations with members of Shim, Fleet Foxes and the Maldives. And while she’s juggling life in the studio and onstage (she appears this month at SXSW), we got her reflecting on how her style can sometimes be an extension of her sound. - City Arts Magazine