Surprise! This is another Americana folk review, as it seems that music within this genre makes love and gives birth to new babies every day.
Julie Byrne is an author from New York. Her debut album Rooms With Walls and Windows was released in 2014, and this year we have got her second effort. Besides a successful solo career, Julie is also a member of the music project Mutual Benefit.
How you noticed that the story about folk musicians updates with a new chapter every day? I am not going to find an explanation for this phenomena, but we can all acknowledge that Americana folk scene is blossoming, both in the Unites States and in the rest of the Western world. Interesting thing is that those are mostly young girls who nurture simple expression spiced up with country and blues, and hold Judee Sill, Joan Baez and Vashti Bunyan as the major influences.
Julie reminds me of Vashti Bunyan mostly because of the vocal. Lyrics are emotional, intimate, curt and refer to nature. In the case of this artist, simplicity is the key word. She wanted to exude simplicity even with her cover art which shows Julie with closed eyes, in black and white.
Not Even Happiness radiates freshness and purity. The album is made for long walks in nature, but it is also suitable for lonely nights in the apartment. Julie’s voice is light and it hypnotizes with every note. The opening track Follow My Voice is effective in its aim to suck the listener in without sounding too intrusive. Julie practically whispers, and the melancholy of her vocal sparks the magic.
Natural Blue is a classic folk number that will become the singer’s trademark since it represents her style in the best manner possible. Nature references are the strongest here; you can almost here the nature singing. The same applies to Sea as It Glides.
Autobiographical Sleepwalker and the closing track I Live Now As A Singer hint that Julie is just commencing her music journey.
Not Even Happiness is another valuable album, not only for female folk scene, but for the music in general. Simplicity, purity and hypnotic value of the vocal are the album’s strongest asset. Julie Byrne sounds fresh and familiar at the same time.
