Jenny Lewis named her new album after a word she invented. The title, Joy’All, combines "joy" and "all," condensing sentiment that, if it were expressed in a sentence, could read: “I wish joy to you all.”

A singer, songwriter and one-time child actress who’s been a category-defying presence in music since she founded her ex-band, Rilo Kiley, in 1998, Lewis has a predilection for coining words. “Oh, all the time,” she said from her home in Nashville. “Not all of th...