Blue On Blue represents something of a second coming for Leigh Nash. Two and a half years ago, Sixpence None the Richer, the band Nash fronted since the early 90s, disbanded, and she was unsure whether she would create music again. Then inspiration came in the form of her first child, a son named Henry.
“I didn’t know for about a year after we broke up that I was going to do another record,� says Nash. “I wanted to leave it open. Actually, it was more like six or seven months—it wasn’t even a whole year—because once I had my son, a lot of stuff started coming up and I wanted to write about him and sing about him. I found him and motherhood to be very inspiring, so I decided I needed to keep making music.�
Although Sixpence None the Richer released four albums in their 14-year run as a band, they are still best known for their hit single, “Kiss Me,� a light, upbeat song of love from their third, self-titled release. The song became virtually ubiquitous, hitting number one in the US, earning the band a Grammy nomination, and even being played at England’s Prince Edward’s royal wedding. While the band went on to put out one more album, the pressure of writing another hit single eventually became too much.
“In one way, I think maybe [“Kiss Me�] kept us together longer,� says Nash. “Maybe we would have broken up sooner if it hadn’t been such a big deal. But then it also forced a lot of pressure onto us that wouldn’t have been there otherwise; and kind of made us a little bit pigeonholed into something that we never were before. We weren’t the hit-making band….In the end I think it just was the last nail in the coffin. We just weren’t ever going to escape the “Kiss Me�-band thing, and we didn’t have the patience to see if we ever would.�
Blue On Blue is an album that beautifully showcases Nash’s sweet, angelic vocals in delicate pop arrangements, not too dissimilar from her last band’s big hit. Her songs deal with themes of love, spirituality and motherhood, which, combined with gorgeous pop melodies, make Blue On Blue an album of wonderful art and truly uplifting spirit. It is a remarkable achievement for an artist who has seen fame come and go and emerged unscathed, more artistically devoted than ever. In “More of It,� a wondrous song of love and devotion to her husband of 10 years, she sings, “My dreams are getting used to you. I hope you don’t get too used to me and my dreaming.� So, how have Nash’s dreams changed in the last decade, since before her fleeting brush with celebrity?
“They haven’t changed that much actually,� says Nash, quickly. “Other than [the fact that] obviously I’m not in the band anymore. Ten years ago I probably would have hoped that the band would stay together forever, and to be successful and happy, the end. But now I see this independence for myself, and that’s a pretty huge thing. I’ve never felt as independent and strong as I do right now. And that’s pretty drastic. Maybe I’m kind of just now coming into my own. So, yeah, I guess they’ve changed more than I thought.�
http://www.leighnash.com
Leigh Nash's solo album Blue On Blue is out August 15, 2006 on One Son Records.
Frank Valish
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