Graber offers barhoppers around the Valley a strange, sweet, growing collection of soft-spoken ballads in a style that merges classic country, Americana, and lullabies. Throw into the mix a case full of harmonicas and a commitment to poetics and you have yourself a Shelby James show.
Shelby decided to take a step away from his band, The Crying Shames, to work on his songwriting. The band was working on their third album at the time, a project Shelby hopes to return to with The Shames and some newer, better songs in tow. So far, it appears as if this break for personal development will prove beneficial for Shelby James, The Crying Shames, and all their fans as he continues to explore this “authentic” voice. The new songs are honest and deeply felt. They aim right for the ticker and they hit their mark.
I’ll admit I was worried before he started playing. During the interview, Shelby asserted that his skills as a songwriting are something he is still developing but that right now he is trying to “find one true thing to say.” Every postmodern bone in my body flinched at hearing this. I became very concerned about the new songs Shelby was ready to perform remembering uncounted, “precious” performances from other local musicians seeking truth before art. Will listeners just be subjected to an onslaught of autobiographical ditties about old girlfriends?
Thankfully, my fears were abated. The truth that Shelby speaks of is an emotional one, the most relative of all truths. Shelby attests to an “emotional epicenter” that one draws from when creating. Artists need not be literal but they should try for an emotional authenticity. It makes songs believable, real, according to Shelby James. He contends that therein lays the greatness of Hank Williams, Bruce Springsteen, and many others.
“Diamonds,” one of the new songs Shelby has been working on of late dismissed my concerns of sentimentality, biography, and just plain “bad” writing. It is a sweeping, folksy serenade complete with the little details that resonate through Americana music: brief memories and images, card games at Legion Hall, and crossing county lines.
“Starting Over with You” sounds a lot like Shelby’s earlier work until one focuses on the lyrics. Much more cohesive than early songs, “Starting Over with You” reveals growth as a songwriter and as a person from the Ohio native who took to Valley stages eight years ago.
Perhaps the most impressive of his new tracks are the darker “May Good Things Find You” and “Lie Down in Darkness.” It is in these songs we see the beginnings of the blur that occasionally develops between poetry and lyricism. David Berman of the Silver Jews and, of course, Bob Dylan are known for dancing in this grey region dividing songwriters and poets. Shelby appears to be seeking a niche in this strange world of writers. Even the more cliché images, i.e. the sparrow in the ribcage, are drawn into something uniquely beautiful within the context of the song. Ryan Adams has made an art of this skill alone... making the cliché intimate and uncomfortably personal. Perhaps this is the “authenticity” Shelby is coming to know.
While one might hope that his break from The Crying Shames will be short-lived, the time Shelby takes to develop his talents as a songwriter and solo performer should prove well worth the wait.
