Shirley Hurt: the debut album

Shirley Hurt, an artist new to me, is singing songs into my experienced ears. Locked firmly inside my cosy headphones on a beastly howler of a morning, complete with lashing, biblical rain, I dive in. 

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The tracks, upon first listen, do not seem to rattle the windows and doors of the folk hall of fame. Even if there is such a thing. But that’s the sting in Shirley’s tail. Foolishly, I was pitching my ears to expect a variety of references to prepare my first listen to her debut eponymous album. That didn’t work out so well.

From ambivalence to appreciation

Then, this Canadian songwriter’s deft lyrical agility controlled my imagination. For instance, within the album’s opening lines:

My life is koan, it's designed to make me break and the message says to let go...

After googling the meaning of the word koan, this was the first insight into the writer’s approach, who among her many travels and daily routines as an artist, admits to praying to find inspiration to write.

“Lyrics tend to come to me when I am doing non-musical things – washing dishes, brushing my dogs, walking to the grocery store. I have a lot of voice memos on my phone and half-filled notebooks and when I hear something, I have to stop what I’m doing to get the idea down. Usually it’s bits and pieces. It’s rare a full song comes to me in one go, but it’s great when they do, and those are often my favourites.”

Shirley Hurt

Right then, I’m in. I’m all ears. What happened next was a steep learning curve to the relentless incredible imagery and storytelling that Shirley drops into the otherwise restrained music, as effortlessly and mysteriously as pillows often release their feathers after time.

She paints a recurring picture, for this listener at least, using a voice that shifts from barely breathing to a tubular tone. A haunted central character seemingly surrenders to the force of a love, which has both been found as well as vanished. A love that is both all consuming around her but also out of reach. To feel loss but to never give up. Powerful heart-wrenching teachings for any listener in this day and age.

Powerful heart-wrenching teachings for any listener in this day and age.

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Conclusion

Take the weight off your feet; put some headphones on. Let Shirley Hurt’s tapestry of otherworldly thinking, in an ordinary disguise, quietly chase the rain away.

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Shirley Hurt is out now on Melodic.