Ruth Moody – Wanderer (True North Records/Blue Muse Records)
If the wings of butterflies were to create a sound we might hear, such might approach an apt description of Ruth Moody’s lilting, heavenly soprano of a voice. At times, it feels like she goes beyond singing actual lyrics, replacing them, instead, with a breathy musical presence which seems to inject each deft, delicate arrangement with an added degree of intimacy and warmth. She does sing words, of course, but her vocal skills often take you to a different place – with a sound which begs the use of proper headphones for full advantage of the effect. Her third release and 11 years since her last, These Wilder Things, Ruth Moody might be better known as a Wailin’ Jenny – a three-member, all-female, Canadian-based folk/vocal ensemble whose collective voices fit together like the perfect puzzle solved. They still actively perform, although their membership has ebbed and flowed.
So, could this solo release be described a one-person Wailin’ Jennys’ release? Not in the slightest. This venerable enchantress has always flown under the flag of the somewhat esoteric as compared with the ‘folk with a hint of country and bluegrass’ you’d hear at a Jennys show. This time out, the Aussie-born, Winnipeg-bred Moody presents 10 self-penned originals adorned by a complementary collection of lush acoustic instrumentation, with layered vocals. Acoustic guitar, electric guitar, banjo, acoustic bass, viola, mandolin, piano, mellotron, pedal steel, violin, cello, clarinet, drums and assorted percussion and some of Nashville’s best musicians (Anthony da Costa, Kai Welch, Jason Burger, Will Honaker, Russ Pahl and Nicki Bluhm) join Moody and partner, Sam Howard, to create a very simpatico atmosphere, providing the necessary chemistry required to bring Moody’s expressive lead into full colour.
Wanderer chronicles this significant gap between releases – she’s not alone in wondering where the last decade went. Well-titled, she’s been everywhere and nowhere at once – maturing, gaining fresh experience as a solo artist, as a regular Jenny and as a consort to Mark Knopfler, for starters. And, oh yes, having a baby 7 years back and, with less free time to deal with, keeping a regular schedule of shows and recording with the Jennys, dealing with a pandemic and the natural instincts of a need to actually settle down and secure an actual, more concrete sense of home. Registering all the joys and anxieties born of the changes we all go through as we add years to our score, Wanderer digs into these themes, adding significant fabric and texture.
“Already Free” proves an upbeat beginning, her ethereal vocal grounded only by Honaker’s synth and both electric and acoustic guitars. Originally an older, piano-driven composition it was given a more hopeful-sounding rebirth to reveal how the darkness of pandemic times could give way to the sense of freedom gained from confessing one’s blues with others. Her adoption of open-tuned guitars lends it a distinctive ‘Joni’ feel and the song’s chorus is entirely uplifting. Her son, Woodson, agrees.
The beautiful “Twilight” quickly hits a nerve with its gentle guitar intro giving way to propulsive acoustic guitars, piano, mellotron, strings and subtle percussion, as Moody’s sturdy vocal rises above lush background support to deliver a heartfelt song outlining the transition of love – from initial infatuation through to retention.
From the opening notes of her claw-hammer banjo to the addition of fellow Winnipegger Joey Landreth’s voice to her own, “The Spell of the Lilac Bloom” is a quite fragrant love song (to Sam) and a classic duet, penned within the timetable of her pregnancy. Landreth’s lower register only serves to underline the singularity of Moody’s exhilarating soprano. As the instrumentation builds (resonator guitar, piano, accordion, synth), this relationship seems the first building block in her desire to wander less, having found something worth holding on to.
“Seventeen” and “Michigan” are two of the album’s highlights. While one documents the heartbreak of early, unrequited love and her relationship with Winnipeg, the other deals with the importance of place and love lost – both bittersweet flashbacks. At the same time, both songs feature deep, beefy hooks – the first benefitting from the added power behind Moody’s vocal and da Costas’ eventual breakout on electric guitar; the second demonstrating the secret weapon found in Russ Paul’s pedal steel and the warm glow of Sam Howard’s acoustic bass – both songs offering powerful choruses.
However, the track which sinks its teeth in the deepest might be “The Way Lovers Move” – deserving of an R-rating for its titillation factor alone – but simple in nature, driven by Moody’s breathy vocal, adding acoustic guitar, B3, synth, mellotron, pedal steel and gentle percussion.
The delicate approach of “Coyotes” builds into a much larger arrangement as electric guitar, mandolin, and Jason Burger’s softly-pummelled percussion transform this dream of resistance to change into the reality of having fallen deeply in love.
You can’t listen to “North Calling” without realizing Moody’s extra artistic edge and how Knopfler might’ve been drawn to her skills. Her use of banjo, brother Richard’s mandolin, cello and violin (Nat Smith, Christian Sedelmyer) and even clarinet (Alec Spiegelman)… and is that a bodhran?) – conjures something approaching a strong Celtic feel while being, at the same time, a paean to returning to her Home and Native Land and to the creativity which she generates from answering the North’s call.
The sense of a gentle Celtic connection continues with the title track. Its slow pace and deceptively uncomplicated lyric are all the more striking in the arrangement which accompanies it. Anthony da Costa’s electric guitar bites chunks out of the relatively placid setting while Moody hits some of her highest notes – injecting plenty of heart into the reading. “Wanderer” accomplishes two things: registering our resistance to change while underlining the value of not only coming home, but in having a home to come home to.
Like a palette-cleansing sorbet, “Comin’ Round the Bend” provides a clear view of the light that awaits just around the corner – a coda of sorts – acknowledging, if not reinforcing, the more positive side of making changes – and making those changes work to bear fruit. At the same time, Moody claims the song was originally written as a curative balm during a time of grieving and loss. It has resurrected itself, however, as a song of hope and a fresh beginning, tenderly nestled in a luscious string arrangement by Adrian Dolan, featuring violins, cello, acoustic guitar and percussion.
Much has been made of the nomadic lifestyle of a musician. The more you’re exposed to in life, the more subject matter you have to write about. Wanderer is so aptly named as these 10 songs represent Moody’s significant journey – from 2013 to now. And it’s an important record because the listener is included in every aspect of this passage, with all its ups and downs. Most importantly, this decade-long pilgrimage ends as it began – as an encouraging and optimistic excursion which ultimately arrives at a positive destination. Like the confidential pages of a real-world diary set to an almost dreamlike accompaniment, Moody has shared something most wondrous.
Find more details on her website here: https://www.ruthmoody.com/
Enjoy our previous coverage here: Song Premiere: Ruth Moody “Already Free”
