 |
|
|
| Accessible Pop music from a Melancholy Poet with an Unshakeably Happy Streak |
Shelly is influenced by the ever-changing, every-circling dark and light around her. And the dark and light have surrounded her as she’s taken her music to a church in Dawson City, The Drake Hotel in Toronto, a mountain top tea-house in Japan, a balcony in Umbria, and a cigar lounge in the Gulf of Mexico.
Using her variety store collection of ukulele, casio, melodica and piano to accompany her rained-upon old style voice, O’Brien leads her audiences through abandoned fairgrounds, reads whimsical stories, and sends them on their way.
In June 2008 she completed her new album “you, me and the birds” with Vancouver indie producer Matthew Rogers (CR Avery, Mark Berube, The Fugitives). It is a fascinating album – a little quirky, a little unusual in its approach, but it is most definitely a thoughtful, accessible pop album.
You, Me, and the Birds is full of delicious vocals, tunes that’ll slide inside your head and stay there. She plays piano and – gasp! – ukulele, which she regards as a serious instrument, not a toy to create forgettable novelty music. And the CD has a raft of found sounds, too, including noises made by a box of organic instant oatmeal, a sink full of water, ripping paper, a ratchet on bike spokes, ill-tuned Am/FM radio static, and the voices of kids at play.
|
|
 |
"Shelley O'Brien's songs teeter at the very cusp of a musical and emotional tipping point; they're tiny, beautiful moments that, after you've heard them, stick to you. They affect you. They help you see things differently."
- 96.4fm
"Shellest's voice is clear and strong, but can also sound very light and pretty when the song requires it. The music is along the lines of folksy pop. She makes nice use of piano, percussion and string arrangements to create an emotional sound."
- NOW Magazine |
|
|
|
|
