Over the last twelve months, the stock of Canadian
folk/roots artist Ruth Moody has grown considerably in the UK. During her most
recent tour at the start of last year, we were just being introduced to her
debut solo release THE GARDEN even though it had been available in the US and
Canada for a while. However for its follow up there is no such delay and the
launch of THESE WILDER THINGS has almost been synchronised across the pond. On
the back of this high quality sophomore release, it appears that a Wailin
Jennys’ reunion may be continued to put on hold as Ruth goes from strength to
strength with her song writing, music making and high calibre of collaboration.
Listening to this 10 track – 47 minute production is an
enthralling experience as Ruth continues to successfully find a sound to suit
her enchanting vocals and heart drenched lyrical outpourings. This is reflected
in piano led ballads, more buoyant acoustic numbers and a brief excursion into
the world of electric to support some of the more vibrant offerings. The ultimate
compliment you can give is to acknowledge her extraordinary ability to extract
every sinew of emotion from a multitude of instrumental sounds.
Ruth’s successful stint as part of the 2012 Transatlantic
Sessions cast has led to at least four collaborations on this album. Jerry
Douglas, legendary Dobro virtuoso and Sessions co-founder, lends a hand to the
excellent ‘One Light Shining’ thus
giving it a very roots and bluegrass feel. Meanwhile the celtic influence of
the Sessions has led to Ruth enlisting the talents of Scottish pair, John
McCusker and Mike McGoldrick to provide some musical expertise via fiddle and
low whistle to ‘Life is Long’. The
fourth Sessions link is the guest backing vocals by Crooked Still’s Aoife O’Donovan
who effectively replaced Ruth in this year’s line up.
The eminence of Ruth’s collaborators moves up a notch with
the guest guitar and vocals by Mark Knopfler on the excellent ‘Pockets’, a captivating tale of
emotional intensity topped with a magical duet chorus. As part of her couple of
upcoming UK visits, she is opening for Mark during his Royal Albert Hall stint.
Although not in collaboration, Ruth does experiment on one track with a total
re-working of Springsteen’s ‘Dancing in
the Dark’. It took quite a few listens to determine whether the fiddle and
mandolin treatment to this rock classic worked but ultimately this folk/roots
style version convinced me of its merit.
Apart from her classically trained beautiful vocals and acoustic
string playing skills via guitar, banjo and ukulele, Ruth is also an adept
pianist which is expertly evidenced on the haunting title track ‘These Wilder
Things’ and the fabulous heartbreak ballad ‘Make
a Change’. This take on facing up to a heartbreak decision is
representative of the deep lyrical content that accompanies all nine self
penned songs but not all are entirely sad downbeat numbers. Album closer ‘Nothing without Love’ with its banjo
sound contains a memorable chorus emphasising the importance of love. While at
the other end of the record, ‘Trouble and
Woe’ leads off in gospel style with fiddle and banjo gracing a song which
you could envisage having a live sing along presence.
‘Tree of Skies’ is
another song that has the potential to come across better live than on record
which just leaves the stand out song on the album, ‘The One and Only’. While a
majority of Ruth’s songs do require a degree of patience to absorb their pure
worth, this tempo changing radio friendly number, questioning the frustrations
of eternal love, does take more of a bow to Americana than the contemporary folk
ambience which generally describes her sound. The harmonies provided by current
‘Jennys’ Nicky Mehta and Heather Masse and the fuller electric sound are the
contributing factors to this switch which does showcase Ruth’s diverse talents.
There is no doubt that THESE WILDER THINGS is a worthy
follow up to The GARDEN, and there will be numerous opportunities to catch Ruth
Moody and her band in the UK in the run up to her Maverick Festival appearance
in July. By investing a little listening time, the rewards of experiencing this
blossoming artist are unlimited, so immersing yourself into her music is highly
recommended.
www.ruthmoody.com
Catch Ruth's version of Dancing in the Dark
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