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Following on from her debut back in September, Shelly has gone from strength to strength. Accompanied by her own keyboard playing and the excellent Jon Priestley on guitar, Shelly's powerful country-style vocals call to mind the likes of Trisha Yearwood and Shelby Lynne. A particular highlight was Learn To Fall on which she dispensed with the keyboard, with the hitherto understated Jon providing a full and rich Americana-style guitar backing. - Andy Ropek - The Icarus Club, Hither Green, London
Warwickshire lass Shelley made an absolutely stunning debut ! She was an instant hit with the Icarus faithul as they instantly warmed to her powerful country-tinged vocals and keyboard playing as she belted out five emotionally-charged songs, none more so than Love's Not All There Is To It. On two songs, she dispensed with the keyboards, accompanied only by wonderfully edgy blues/jazz guitar courtesy of Jon Priestley. She's released a very fine EP Change which is well worth a purchase. - Andy Ropek - The Icarus Club, Hither Green
Warwickshire lass Shelley made an absolutely stunning debut ! She was an instant hit with the Icarus faithul as they instantly warmed to her powerful country-tinged vocals and keyboard playing as she belted out five emotionally-charged songs, none more so than Love's Not All There Is To It. On two songs, she dispensed with the keyboards, accompanied only by wonderfully edgy blues/jazz guitar courtesy of Jon Priestley. She's released a very fine EP Change which is well worth a purchase. - Andy Ropek - The Icarus Club, Hither Green
Born in Johannesburg, South Africa and raised in Staffordshire, England, Shelly Quarmby decided to record her debut EP, Change in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Years of training in music, voice and even ballet have led up this moment, when the world-at-large learns about Shelly Quarmby.
Quarmby opens with If You Could Only See Me Now, using her lush voice and warm phrasing to shape the melody into a thing of beauty. A fairly simple arrangement serves to highlight Quarmby's voice, which is part Sarah McLachlan and part Paula Cole. If You Could Only See Me Now is a song that looks back at an old love through the eyes of melancholy. Quarmby maintains that same feel on the opening bars of Change, moving quickly to an upbeat tempo that tries to escape its melancholy roots but never quite manages. It's a song about the human tendency to embrace change in theory but rarely in fact. Who's That Girl is an interesting song about how life sneaks up on us sometime. One day we might look in the mirror and realize suddenly how much older we look, or wonder where the person we've always been went. Who's That Girl seems to explore that phenomenon in poetic terms. It's a pleasant song with a touch of Pop sensibility. Love's Not All There Is To It is a mature look at love and a future in marriage; children and all that come with domesticity. It's a beautiful melody that looks at love through a deeper lens than what's generally touched upon in popular music. This arrangement has just a touch of Country flavor to it and could easily be interpreted as a Country tune, but is more of an Adult Contemporary Pop tune as presented. Let Me Be The One shows the same sort of mature songwriting perspective, asking for the space to live her own life in conjunction with the life of another. It's a beautiful melody and very much a pleasurable listen.
Shelly Quarmby has a voice and musical style perfect for Adult Contemporary radio, crafting melodies that fit in nicely between the singer/songwriters of the 1970's (Dan Fogelberg, James Taylor, Carly Simon, Joni Mitchell) and the Adult Pop of today. Her writing perspective is very mature, involving thought, which can sometimes be detrimental to Pop radio exposure, but Quarmby is warm and likeable in her delivery and breezes right by that potential roadblock on Change. Quarmby could use a foil in her creation process, even if it were a talented instrumentalist who would challenge her arrangements on occasion, but Change is a very promising debut. Keep your eyes out for Shelly Quarmby. I have a sneaking suspicion this isn't the last we'll be hearing from her.
http://wildysworld.blogspot.com/2009/12/review-shelly-quarmby-change.html
- Wildy's World - Online Reviews - December 10, 2009
Melodic Folk
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Elegant vocals and keys from country/folk rising star Shelly, who has the sound to compete with the very best in the melodic middle ground occupied by the likes of Trisha Yearwood and LeAnn Rimes. 'If You Could Only See Me Now' is a sensual starter, with moments of heart-stopping magic. If it were aligned to major orchestral-style production it could attract huge attention. This, alongside the raw tenderness of 'Let Me Be The One', illustrates Shelly's enviable range and how we are capable of developing our own premier balladeers. - Keith Ames - Musicians Union - Spring 2010
Melodic Folk
__
Elegant vocals and keys from country/folk rising star Shelly, who has the sound to compete with the very best in the melodic middle ground occupied by the likes of Trisha Yearwood and LeAnn Rimes. 'If You Could Only See Me Now' is a sensual starter, with moments of heart-stopping magic. If it were aligned to major orchestral-style production it could attract huge attention. This, alongside the raw tenderness of 'Let Me Be The One', illustrates Shelly's enviable range and how we are capable of developing our own premier balladeers. - Keith Ames - Musicians Union - Spring 2010
Discography
Change - EP - October 2009
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Bio
Starting out as a collection of small lyrical ideas, a song with tempo changes and the shifting of mood and pace in the chorus "Change" stands out as the wonderful title track of this pensive EP. The "Change" EP features a brand new version of "Love's Not All There Is To It"as well as four other full band produced tracks and a beautiful acoustic arrangement of "Let Me Be the One". With each play you'll hear: the maturity of Chantal Kreviazuk, Sarah McLachlan, the loveliness of Jewel and a dash of Linda Ronstadt and Joni Mitchell. You'll be singing these uplifting and catchy melodies after the first play, every moment in every song was constructed through a life experience.
- "'If You Could Only See Me Now' is a sensual starter, with moments of heart-stopping magic." -
Being given the opportunity to write for a country compilation album that unfortunately never got to release saw Shelly rise from freelance session vocalist to recording artist. With song writing never a priority, after one of the songs "Love's Not All There Is To It" was picked up to appear on another compilation album "Walk the Line", Shelly decided to go out as a singer/songwriter. In 2007 she entered "Love's Not All There Is To It" into the BBC New Talent for songwriters competition and got through in which she was one of only 60 participants across the UK to attend a weekend of collaborative song writing with highly acclaimed songwriters and producers. In August 2008 she arrived in Toronto, Canada to record her debut, a 6-song EP. She recorded "Change" the EP at Greenpail Studios with TIm Branton of Inside Music (Carole Pope, The Fembots, Crash Kelly, The Novaks, Jane Siberry, Ron Hawkins,The Lowest of the Low) In October of 2009 she was nominated by The Independent Singer-Songwriter Awards for two awards: Best New Artist and Best Adult Contemporary Song for "Love's Not All There Is To It". She also got an honourable mention in the 2008 Unisong Songwriting Competition. After a return to the UK to promote and gig with the EP and performing in venues such as The Bedford, London, The Jam House, Birmingham and back to Toronto and showcases in New York, 2012 saw Shelly develop the songs into a foundation for workshops to inspire people in challenging circumstances. Whilst also writing new music and collaborating with various new song writers to complete new projects including recordings using just the voice, the "Embracing Change" workshop is on the road to inspire and engage audiences.
- "She was an instant hit with the [audience] as they instantly warmed to her powerful country-tinged vocals and keyboard playing as she belted out five emotionally-charged songs" -
Shelly's songs captivate; a blend of country, pop and rock inspired by great songwriters such as Jimmy Webb, Randy Newman, Carole King and Beth-Nielsen-Chapman. Musically, vocally, eclectically, she is in the middle of where Norah Jones meets Kelly Clarkson or Sarah McLachlan meets Natalie Maines (Dixie Chicks). Comparative to female singer-songwriters such as Paula Cole, Chantal Kreviazuk, Jewel, Vonda Shepard and Sarah McLachlan her songs are powerful and emotive, they will leave you wanting more.
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