Skip to main content

Maverick Ad

Home

Main navigation

  • Home
  • Cover Stories
  • Features
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Cashbox Legacy Awards
  • Past Covers
  • Weekly Archive
The Wailin’ Jennys Co-Founder RUTH MOODY Releases “The Spell of the Lilac Bloom” Featuring Joey Landreth From Her Wanderer Album

Breadcrumb

  • Home
  • The Wailin’ Jennys Co-Founder RUTH MOODY Releases “The Spell of the Lilac Bloom” Featuring Joey Landreth From Her Wanderer Album
Ruth Moody
Fri May 10, 2024
Cashbox Canada

It’s the mark of a great artist when even one of her pledges of undying devotion has more going on than meets the eye. For proof, cop a listen to “The Spell of the Lilac Bloom,” the romantically straightforward—or is it?—latest single from Ruth Moody’s new album, Wanderer. Check it out on YouTube here:

Singing in the gorgeous soprano The Huffington Post says could be “the prettiest voice in all of North Americana these days,” the Winnipeg-raised folkster lays out a plan of the heart that rings hopeful and forthright:

‘Cause I could love you for good
I could love you for always

I could love you the rest of my nights and the rest of my days
I could sing it like the mourning dove
I could watch you like the stars above
I could hold you with all that I’m made of

All signs point to a traditional romance, one our narrator envisions progressing from courtship to the altar. The verses abound with references to “sway(ing) in your arms” at “the old dance hall” and forgoing the traditional “wearing (of) white” to instead “do it our way if that’s alright.” But as Moody explains, the reality behind the lyrics is a bit more nuanced and complex.

“I wrote this song while I was living in Portland Oregon and had recently found out that I was pregnant with my son,” she reveals. “I was full of wonder and excitement, but also coming to terms with the fact that life was about to change forever. It was spring and the lilacs were in bloom; that scent would put me in a dream when I’d go out walking. One day, I went out into the rain, and the words to this song came into my head. I went home and put it to banjo.”

Listen on Spotify here: open.spotify.com/album/2TeLkzCJENA6pgTtnqZaNU

Appropriately, it’s only thanks to her real-life romantic relationship that the number got recorded in the form it was destined to take - as a duet with Joey Landreth of Winnipeg roots-rock luminaries The Bros. Landreth.

“I played the song for my partner, and he immediately heard it as a duet,” Moody recalls. “I was thrilled when I asked Joey Landreth to play and sing on this while I was in the studio, and he said “‘Yes!’”

It was the best of calls all the way around. Not only do their alternating lead lines make them the perfect vocal foils for each other, but Landreth lays down some atmospheric resonator guitar that beautifully enhances Moody’s graceful banjo.

The song is a charming and delicate highlight of Wanderer, which chronicles the life journey Moody has been on since her last album, These Wilder Things, dropped in 2013. That pregnancy led to an extended hiatus in which she chose to focus on her roles as a mother and life partner. When she was ready to record again, she had 10 new songs bursting with newfound wisdom and ready to be tracked with co-producer Dan Knobler at Sound Emporium in Nashville (where Winnipeg native Moody spends a good deal of her time these days).

It’s all a long way from Moody’s childhood on a goat farm in Manitoba. Then again, she’s never been one to shy away from growth and change. By her 20s, she was on the Billboard charts with the folk trio she had co-founded, The Wailin’ Jennys. (They’re still going strong after 22 years.) Between that and the parallel solo career she began in 2010, she’s been the proud recipient of two Juno Awards and six nominations —and found time to collaborate regularly with the legendary Mark Knopfler, both on record and as a member of his live band.

The combination of that gig, The Wailin’ Jennys’ activity and her work as a solo act has allowed Moody to tour extensively, appearing at some of the most prestigious venues on the planet.

With Wanderer out, she’s cementing her status as a live draw with a tour of top listening rooms in the U.S. Dates booked so far are as follows:

May 21: Rams Head, Annapolis, MD
May 22: World Café Live, Philadelphia, PA
May 23: The Birchmere, Alexandria, VA
May 25: Joe’s Pub, New York City
May 26: State Theatre, State College, PA
May 28: SPACE, Evanston, IL
May 29: Vivarium, Milwaukee, WI
May 30: Ludlow Garage, Cincinnati, OH
May 31: Musicians Corner, Nashville, TN
July 11-14: Winnipeg Folk Festival, Winnipeg, MB

ruthmoody.com

Reviews
Album
Ruth Moody
Month: Apr 2022
Modlee Hip Hop Soul-R&B Artist Modlee Reveals SOUL URGE in the Form of Newly…
Shining Bright Amidst All the 80s Vibes, Pop/Soul Artist Nathalie Miranda Wants to Know: “Is This Love” Shining Bright Amidst All the 80s Vibes, Pop/Soul Artist Nathalie…
Shawn Oates Edmonton's Country Artist Shawn Oates Releases New “Outta This Town”…
Month: May 2022
Blaze Project Canadian Rockers Blaze Project Crystallize the Conundrum of…
Country Songstress Bree Taylor Inspires Strength & Self-Love While Overcoming Challenges with New Single, “On My Own” Country Songstress Bree Taylor Inspires Strength & Self-Love While…
Katie Ditschun Canadian Jazz Songstress Katie Ditschun Captures A Lonely Sense…
Shades Lawrence Alt-Rapper Shades Lawrence Fights Colonization With Powerful New…
Holy Ramen Toronto Pop-Hip Hop Artist Holy Ramen is In Exile
R&B-Soul Singer-Songwriter Jarvis Church Reimagines Bill Withers Classics With A Modern Twist with Release of New Album R&B-Soul Singer-Songwriter Jarvis Church Reimagines Bill…
Pop-Soul Artist Natalie Nicole Gilbert Passionately Reimagines Adele’s “Easy on Me” Pop-Soul Artist Natalie Nicole Gilbert Passionately Reimagines…
Roland Grant Windsor, NS Flamenco & Rock-Instrumental Guitarist Roland Grant…
The Zolas JUNO-Nominated Rockers The Zolas Cover Poppy Family’s “Where Evil…
Sylvia Kay Sylvia Kay Pens Nostalgic Ode to Coming of Age in Shimmering New Single, “…
Kele Fleming Kele Fleming Sings Through Seismic Life Shifts with New 90s-Infused…
Kayla Divenere - Megan Fox Pop Artist Kayla DiVenere Explores the Frustrations Of Impossible…

Pagination

  • First page « First
  • Previous page ‹ Previous
  • …
  • Page 66
  • Page 67
  • Page 68
  • Page 69
  • Current page 70
  • Page 71
  • Page 72
  • Page 73
  • Page 74
  • …
  • Next page Next ›
  • Last page Last »

CEO/PUBLISHER/EDITOR IN CHIEF
SANDY GRAHAM

email:sandygrahamemg@gmail.com 

Canadian Journalists:

Contributing Journalist - Canada and Global
Don Graham
email: dongrahamwriter@gmail.com

Contributing Journalist - Canada and Global
Lisa Hartt
email: lisahartt87@hotmail.com

Contributing Journalist - Canada 
Michael Williams
email: greydread@gmail.com

 

 

 

 

International Journalists:

Contributing Journalist - Sweden
Malin Osth
email: malin@musicdays.se

Contributing Journalist - Sweden
Jonas Tancred
email: jonas@musicdays.se

Contributing Journalist - USA
Rob Durkee 
email: rockster2746@gmail.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

Web Developer/Technical Support
Chris Wardman

email: info@chriswardman.com
website: chriswardman.com

Cashbox Cover Design and Graphic Artist
Jain McMillan

email: jainmcmillan@gmail.com

Contributing Photographer 
Tracey Savein - South Paw Productions
southpawproductions@rogers.com

 

 

 

Footer menu

  • Home
  • Features
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Cashbox Archive
  • Issue Archive
  • Past Covers