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Mar 05, 2021 By Caleb Campbell Photography by Rae Mercedes

Following three years in psych rock band The Wild Jays, singer/guitarist Trevor Willmott began returning to his songwriting roots, looking for an introspective outlet for his struggles with depression and anxiety. That outlet became his rising folk solo project, Cujo Moon. As Cujo Moon, Willmott creates intimate alternative folk, all written, recorded, and produced solo in Willmott’s Nashville home studio. Last month Willmott debuted his latest single, “Watch You Shine,” and shared details of his upcoming EP, Bridges II. Now Willmott has also shared the video for “Watch You Shine,” premiering with Under the Radar. “Watch You Shine,” the first song written for Cujo Moon, is a gorgeous reflection on love and grief. The initially stark instrumentation and unadorned production are slowly brought to life with gentle string and piano accents while never breaking unwavering focus on Willmott’s voice and loving lament. The video accompanies the tender track with a floating, surreal journey, courtesy of animator Grouch Bucket, (a.k.a. Ryan Usher). The colorful video dives into otherworldly territory, yet also retains the heartfelt empathetic warmth of the track. As Usher describes, “As I relistened to ‘Watch You Shine’, the lyrics started sounding like a mantra toward the self, rather than an outcry to someone else. I can’t speak for others, but I know it’s hard for me to be compassionate towards myself and the inner journey I am constantly on. The outside world can be a crazy place, but the inner journey is where we get to decide what to do about it. The video is about the inner journey of peeling back the layers, facing the hard stuff, and finding the light through all of the darkness. Bad things happen, it’s inevitable, but when they do may this video serve as a reminder to gently whisper to yourself, ‘Come on my love, it’s gonna be alright…’”

Willmott continues, “For this video, I really wanted to let Ryan take the reigns. He is a good friend of mine, and I totally trust his artistic vision. He has a signature style of abstract storytelling through a colourful fantasy-esque setting. I hope when people watch the video that they let go of making literal interpretations and instead just let their imaginations run wild. If anything, I hope the song and video bring about a sense of hope and healing. We all go through pain in life, and sometimes it can bring us to some pretty dark places. This song is about rising out of those places and letting go of our heavier attachments.” Check out the song and video below and watch for Bridges II, out March 26th on Cujo Moon/Tone Tree Music.