Your Voice, Your Choice #3 – Shelley Poole

Delighted to continue a great new feature on Belles and Gals today – “Your Voice, Your Choice”. We introduce one of our favourite songs from a great female country artist and then the artist tells us in turn about a song that has inspired them and has a special place in their heart. Today’s artist is the fantastic Shelley Poole.

Today on our exciting new feature “Your Voice, Your Choice” the spotlight is on Shelly Poole, now part of the fantastic UK alt.country/americana trio “Red Sky July” along with her husband Ally Mcerlaine and good friend Charity Hair. Before forming the band in 2009 they were all members of different groups, Alicia’s Attic, Texas and The Alice Band respectively, and came to work together through their shared love of country music. The collaboration has has been hugely successful, the band’s many achievements include playing twice at C2C and being invited to be Jools Holland special guests on his tour.
Shelly also co-writes and produces for a whole host of musicians, including Ward Thomas with whom she co-wrote “Guilty Flowers” which was released as a single from the sister’s second album, “Cartwheels”.
Those familiar with Red Sky July’s music will be aware that they’re not known for their upbeat, happy songs and although the song of theirs we are featuring is not exactly either of these it does have a positive message! . “Sway” is the closing track from their 2016 album “Shadowbirds” (which Shelly produced)  a gentle, lilting love song composed by Shelly and Ally which they were inspired to write after a barbecue one summer which found them dancing together just like the song suggests. It has a beautifully dreamy, ethereal sound and demonstrates the ladies wonderful vocal harmonies and Ally’s lovely yet understated guitar playing. A mere touch of pedal steel and Wurlitzer in the short intro, the song starts off very gently and builds beautifully. Lyrically it paints a wonderful picture of that romantic barbecue dance, which was  “hardly human, more divine“. Enjoy!

Shelley has chosen “Detlef Schrempf” from the wonderful ‘Band of Horses’

Can I choose song by Band of Horses I just love called  “Detlef Schrempf “?
The chorus  “my eyes can’t look at you any other way “ is so sad !
I think it’s about a bitter lost love….. I also read somewhere it’s about the bands favourite Seattle football player going to play for a rival team, Haha !!! In my head I made it much more romantic than that of course!
But it’s the tone of his voice with the way the words and placed , the sound of the electric guitar and the space in the background for all the percussive parts of the drums and a big dirty snare up front .
So much room in the mix and yet so full and epic sounding . He cries his songs.
I love him a lot I like to listen to this tune in a dark room with headphones on or on a shore looking out to sea on my holidays
X