My new found love, Julie Byrne. She isn't super hot, she inst the next Tina Turner, she isnt an advance guitar finger picker like Shana Cleveland of La Luz. What is she? Well, simple. Not overly simple, however. She has a beautiful, wholesome voice that is incredibly comforting and she plays the guitar with this wispy gliding feel. I just recently found this album, Rooms With Walls and Windows, through a live video (here is one, another, and one more) of her and fell in love instantly. She is kind of new to the larger music scene (outside of local), so she is relatively unknown, but is about to go on an international tour.
I feel like the first half of the album has some songs that are very simple and kind of what you would expect from the indie singer/songwriter genre. But in songs like “Attached to Us…” the slight quiver you can hear in voice really adds volumes to the emotion and feel she is trying to convey. The second half of the album has more complete, fuller songs than the first, however, the it lacks the diversity the first half has.
From what I could tell, this album is a collection of EPs she released over the past 3 years, except slightly reworked and mastered. I thoroughly enjoy this album because of its simplistic nature, it’s pure, raw sound, it’s good use of the Lo-fi aesthetic, the dope ass synths, and Julie Byrne’s beautiful, calming voice. I think I enjoy this album so much because I don't listen to much music like this because I often find it boring. I feel like she standouts, but I don't know why. From what I have read off of her site, her lyrics are pretty good. I don't know much about lyrics, but they seem deep and emotional. haha. I think this is a good album to write in journal too, or sit by the creek and ponder (I sadly have no creeks near me). I hope you enjoy this and find the glory in the bits of this album that standout compared to other musicians in this genre. I present Julie Byrne's Rooms With Walls and Windows.
I wish this album had been suggested during the fall or winter. Listening to it in August almost feels wrong. It has the quiet sincerity that resonates during the cold months. The music itself is quite sparse, but in a purposeful way. Like the old phrase says, sometimes it’s about the notes you don’t play. Julie Bryne creates an expanse for her work to exist by keeping things simple. It is reminiscent of a sort of folk version of Grouper. Her guitar work softly glides and drives along, always present, but never overwhelming.
ReplyDeleteHer lyrics almost read more like stand alone poems than pieces written for music. In fact, some of the lines from the song Emeralds were taken from a Frank O’ Hara poem. Among these works are some interesting phrases, but it can be meandering at times. However, her earnest delivery makes up for this. It’s a quiet style of singing, but when she does reach higher and her voice wavers, emotions intensify.
Songs that stood out to me were : Wisdom Teeth Song, Attached to us like Butcher Wrap, and Prism Song. Many of the tracks have a similar sound, so there can be lulls while listening.
This is an extremely pleasant album to listen to. It doesn’t necessarily grab and hold your attention, but it flows in and out of you awareness. It might never be the kind of collection of songs that will demand all of your focus, but maybe on a cold December night it will be exactly what you need.
The more time I spent listening to this album, the more I was reminded of how every time I listen to Burn Your Fire for No Witness by Angel Olsen how I enjoy the song White Fire but am glad that Angel only put one song like it on the album. To me, Julie Byrne's was just a bunch of White Fires one after another. Maybe I needed to give it some more listens to get past the monotony and be able to appreciate the nuances, but I just never got to that point.
ReplyDeleteI thought both Julie's voice and guitar playing were stylistically pretty, but not particularly original. I didn't dislike this album at all and as Tyler said I probably would've appreciated it a lot more with cold weather, so maybe I'll give it another go when I'm neck deep in snow, I just found that I liked the album much more when I listened to it in the background that when I sat down and tried to listen intently so I am not afraid to use the word boring to describe it.
Overall, I recognize the appeal but I'm not sure why I would ever chose to listen to Julie Byrne over a Angel Olsen, a Torres, or a Julie Doiron.
Good album choice, Ron. It's a perfect record for a dew-covered morning sitting out on the deck and drinking a cup of coffee...or in my case, sitting outside on the porch of my apartment, at 8 AM, while it's already 95 degrees...
ReplyDeleteShe's got a great voice and it's just a pretty album. It's not "hooky" or extremely memorable, necessarily, but it's something I would definitely put on in the future when I'm looking for something calming and appropriate for beautiful mornings. For the reason I just mentioned, though, I don't really have any favorite songs. I can't imagine I'd go pick one in particular out of the bunch; rather, I'd just put on the whole album when I want to listen to it.
I just don't have that much to write about it. It's nice. It's pleasant. It's better than anything Radiohead has ever produced. Etc etc.
The first couple times I listened to this, I was heavily drawn to her voice. It's so soothing and simple - she doesn't do anything extravagant with her voice which provides an easy avenue to focus on instrumentation of the album.
ReplyDeleteHer guitar playing is beautiful. I agree with Tyler, the way she plays (and sings) doesn't require the listener to focus to heavily on what they're listening to. Really great study or background music (I use background here not in the usual negative way it's used when people describe music.)
I agree with Ron about the lo-fi aesthetic. She uses it smartly while still allowing her crisp guitar riffs to shine through. There are some instances where felt a bit bombarded by it, specifically in Emerald and Keep On Raging, where you could barely hear what she's saying some times and the guitar isn't as clear as I would've liked it to be.
Going back to her singing style, she honestly reminds me of early Cat Power. I was trying to figure out who I can compare her style to and Cat Power first came to mind while I was listening to Butter Lamb. The easy-going, mellow, sort of mono-tone way she sings might be a bit mundane to some, but it makes for easy listening in general.
I focused a bit more on the lyrics my last few listens. It feels very poetic and to be honest, didn't really move me in anyway. I think her singing style doesn't allow the listener to focus too much on the lyrics, not necessarily a bad thing just when you take the time to look up the lyrics you wish (or I wished) I could've appreciated them more while listening to the album the first few times.
Standout tracks for me are Young Wife, Butter Lamb, Marmalade, and Vertical Ray. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the record and added a few tracks to my study playlist :)