Here is the delightfully uplifting ‘Sophia’ from Lillian Leadbetter, a gorgeously engaging song of compassion and friendship, a song that shortens the distance between people who are apart. This live recording from Nashville begins with Phil Cohen’s warm, mellow guitar tones as he picks through a simple, unadorned and beautiful melody. Leadbetter’s dreamy vocal is equally tuneful and strikingly heartfelt in her delivery; she loses herself in the music and the song’s meaning. Lyrically, Leadbetter transports the listener with fine narrative details and a real sense of place: “My dear friend lives in Paris // Overlooking the Seine // And she writes me love letters every now and again // In the shadow of the Eiffel Tower // In the gardens at the Louvre // I can see her walking now under a pale crescent moon // Oh Sophia.” Most of us will have found ourselves imagining what someone who is dear to us is doing when far from home, reaching out emotionally and trying to connect over a vast space. Leadbetter explains: “I wrote ‘Sophia’ when I realized I had forgotten to mail one of my best friends a birthday present. She was living abroad at the time and I figured that the only thing that would make it to Paris overnight was a song.” This is some gift: a song of real beauty, heartfelt and honest.
‘Sophia’ is the first single to be released from Leadbetter’s forthcoming album ‘State of Romance’, due for release in October 2023. She co-produced the record with Eli Gold at Burlington’s Future Fields Studio and it brings together her indie-folk, Americana, choral and pop influences in a collection of songs that emphasise engaging melody and romantic sentiments. Born in rural Vermont, but now based half of the time in Nashville, Leadbetter started out by singing along to her father’s guitar as a child before studying at the Berklee College of Music; it’s a musical journey that has brought her to this finely crafted debut album. Enjoy.
