Mandy Moore’s much anticipated new music album is finally here! The 11-track album,“In Real Life”, releases Friday, May 13th, and I’ll be the first in line!
Get “In Real Life”
I spoke with Mandy while she was busy wrapping up the final episodes of “This Is Us” and simultaneously getting ready to launch this new album. You can listen to that conversation - one of the most fun I’ve had on my podcast series, LOVE SOMEONE with Delilah - HERE.
Mandy dropped several hints about her new music during our conversation. I know it came fast on the heels of 2020’s “Silver Landings” , her first new body of work in over a decade, but unfortunately the pandemic prevented her from touring and sharing that project as widely as she’d planned.
A brand new baby with husband, Taylor Goldsmith, took centerstage instead, but as opposed to burying the momentum that had been set into motion, the magic and mysteries of motherhood served to expand that creative energy, and “In Real Life” was born.
What can we expect? It’s being described as “a gloriously unpredictable sound, touched with elements of everything from jangly college-rock to cinematic synth-pop to classic singer/songwriter simplicity.
From the very first seconds of the album-opening “Real Life,” Moore fully immerses the listener in her intimate lyricism and kaleidoscopic sound.
With its elegant collision of moody guitar work, glacial synth lines, and luminous strings, the slow-burning epic captures the blissful upheaval of becoming a mother (“I spent every day/Filling every page/How the world revolved around me/When I saw your face/I knew right away/We’d be whoever we wanted to be”)…
All throughout In Real Life, Moore suffuses her lyrics with an unguarded humanity that’s undeniably tied to her philosophy as a songwriter. “To me it’s all about staying open, staying aware, staying sensitive and empathetic to the people around me,” she says. “There’s something about expressing myself through lyrics and melody that makes me feel whole, and I see it as a privilege to have that outlet. And even though this album is very specific to me and my experience—there’s songs about my baby, my husband, my father, my friends—I hope everyone’s able to see their own lives in it. I hope they’re able to come along on the journey with me, and put themselves in the driver’s seat.””