Beloved Nashville songwriter and yogi Ali Sperry released her fantastic new LP, In Front Of Us, today; brimming with lush textures and poignant, thought-provoking lyrics, this 10-track Laurel Canyon-esque effort is not to be missed. We’re thrilled to premiere a video for one of the album’s tracks, “Hope,” featuring guest vocals from Jill Andrews and inspired by Emily Dickinson’s poem that begins, “hope is the thing with feathers.”
“I am an eternal optimist,” Sperry told us. “Sometimes that is one of my shining qualities and there are times when it is to my detriment, but I cling to it like a survival skill. If I can access hope, I’m ok. I have reason to move forward. I also recognize that some of this ability to be hopeful comes as a result of privilege. I have never had to truly fear for my safety or security or my life.”
In the past year or so, this theme has been at the forefront of Sperry’s attention, and found her calling on hope, hope that change is possible, “that people–including myself–can be and do better,” she says. Not only on the global scale but on a personal scale for Sperry and her husband/producer, Jamie Dick.
“Throughout the course of making this record, every month that went by I was hoping against hope to have conceived a child. For any woman who has lived through this, there is a cycle of hope and disappointment that takes hold where the flicker of hope is at times as vulnerable and delicate as a tiny bird in a storm,” she reveals. “When I sat down to write this song, I imagined it being sung in a church, in harmony, with the big bold acoustics of tall ceilings and stained-glass windows and something inexplicably sacred. This was the only song on the record I played guitar on, and it was an extra special honor to be playing ‘with’ (even though we recorded separately) Audley Freed, the result of which evokes in my mind an image of several people sitting around in a circle strumming guitars. I also love singing with Jill Andrews any chance I get and am so grateful to have her voice alongside me in this one.”
In “Hope,” we get a stripped-down version of a beautiful song—punctuated by the color red, Sperry stands alone with her guitar and a microphone and gives us an intimate glimpse into her deepest self.
Without further ado, please enjoy the premiere of the music video for “Hope” by Ali Sperry:
Listen to In Front of Us by Ali Sperry:
Connect with Ali Sperry:
WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | YOUTUBE | SPOTIFY
All photos of Ali Sperry, including featured image by Fairlight Hubbard
Leave a Reply