Shelley Miller and the Salt Trucks
Shelley Miller and the Salt Trucks is from Chicago in the USA. This is one of those reviews which will focus specifically on the singer songwriter as Shelley Miller (vocal / guitar / banjo / keys) is known both as a solo artist and as part of the band which was originally called The Shelley Miller Band. That isn’t to say that the contributions from Tommy Henry (drums), Cathy Norden (bass / vocals), Joe Darnaby (guitar), Maria McCullough (fiddle) and Steven Gilpin (vocals) are mere background fluff to this Urban Folk-Rock.
Having spent the best part of a decade releasing material with an acoustic flavour, earlier this year her fourth LP February which was written during the Chicago Blizzards of 2011 bears the fruits of those labours. Her material is encased in the angsts of urban living, with cleverly written lyrical content. The music is layered to reflect on the sentiment of the song and to achieve this goal it only makes sense that there should be a full band to accompany the highly perceptive words to do full justice.
The vulnerabilities are laid out bare for all to see, which is the home of the poetical writer, adding instruments which empathise with the words is no easy task, but through the instrumental playing and composition skills in the mix this is achieved with appropriate tenderness. The music demands focus and attention, so is perfect for that moment of introspection when pondering life’s quirks.
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