music makes me wonder: julia marcell "june"

i sure don´t feel bad when i admit that i probably judged julia marcell a little too soon. after seeing her at the haldern pop festival back in august, i really did not intend on giving her new album a chance. of course it´s always hard for artists to impress their audience when they´ve clearly never heard of you before. it´s even more difficult to win over your audience when your music is quite different to what they usually listen to. and that was exactly the case with me. but after having julias new album “june” on repeat for a few days now, i stand corrected. “june” is a great album that has many different sides to it.

 "june" album cover

 

julia marcell released her first 5-rack ep “storm” back in 2007 which was followed by her self-funded 12-track debut album “it might like you” in 2009. and now her new album “june” is about to be released in two days on september 30^th (in germany; on october 3^rd in poland via mystic productions) on haldern pop recordings.

the album kicks off with the title track “june” which is actually one of the songs i distinctly remember from haldern and a great choice to start the album with. especially the glockenspiel in the beginning and during the last 40 seconds, makes this song so interesting.

the new single “matrioszka” follows. not much to say here. “never trust the palest girls” pretty much says it all. i just love that song but see or better hear yourself below. 

 "matrioszka"

up next is “since” which eventually has the piano/double bass (sounds like a double bass at least) intro i was waiting for. the entire song is kept on one level including some rather confusing but somehow fitting backing vocals. it ends with a beautiful string section which stands in contrast to the rest of the song (since that´s slightly (!) more upbeat). 

“ctrl” has by far the most impressive vocals if you ask me. the lyrics and the entire song actually, seem so simple but this song is the one where julia really shows off her vocal talent. the vocals in “ctrl” cover every single vocal range she has to offer. in other terms, this song probably is a fantastic song to dance to and should be played in every single night club some time soon.

the fifth track on “june” is “gamelan” which has a short but wonderful intro that leads perfectly into julia´s vocals. “gamelan” is one of the quieter tracks on the album but equally good nevertheless. the balance between the stronger lead vocals and the calmer backing vocals really stands out compared to the rest of the album. and the fantastic glockenspiel lends something magical to this song.

“shores” is a 90 second instrumental masterpiece. well, maybe not exactly a masterpiece but a really amazing piece of music. no vocals but one of the most beautiful string arrangements i´ve heard in the last couple of months. it gives the album a pleasant break.

following “shores” is “echo”, the only song on the album that actually has polish lyrics (i´ve only studied russian but i reckon it is indeed polish since julia is from poland). and here we have the piano and the strings again. i absolutely love the mix of those instruments. it always gives  a song something elegant even when that´s not really the case with the rest of the song. the choir that sings in polish in the background even drowns out julia´s english lead vocals in the first half of the song but that doesn´t make it wrong. it sounds right (if you know what i mean). the choir sounds huge and gives the listener some sort of church feeling which totally fits here. 

track number eight is “i wanna get on fire” which has an awesome dance sound to it. it´s not that crazy, “dance like you’re on meds” kind of dance sound but it has a serious female james blake twist. it´s a pretty slow song but it´s still quite powerful because of the hypnotic effect it has on you. the vocals are fading out without even noticing till the song ends with a stunning minute of instrumental brilliance. 

i can´t help but think of harry potter every time i listen to “crows”. the glockenspiel and the minimal use of instruments in the beginning totally give this song some sort of hogwarts feeling (a rather strange comparison, i know) but that´s only the case in the beginning. as soon as julia joins in with her loud and fast vocals such as “let´s go, be in love tonight”, there´s not much left to do instead of dancing and singing along. if you sit still when you listen to “crows”, you might want to check if your legs still work.

“shhh” is definitely not the most meaningful song title ever but you´re sadly mistaken if you think that´s the same case with the song. next to “shores”, “i wanna get on fire” and the last track “aye aye”, this has got to be one of the best songs on the album. starting with vocals and a simple beat only, you get into the song more and more with every second that passes by. once the chorus “what´s there in my soul, you will never know; what´s inside of me, you will never see; what´s my heart made of, you will find out my love” hits you, you´re totally into the song and can´t turn it off. it´s the perfect pop-dance number to have an amazing sing-along to. it´s addictive, so be prepared to have it on repeat for a while (i sure have for a few days now).

the album ends with “aye aye”. as i just mentioned above, this sure is one of my favourites, probably mostly because of the great brass elements that are used here. it starts off rather slow but the pace picks up fairly quickly with more and more instruments joining in and once the chorus (including trombone) hits you, you´ve got this brilliant big band moment before the song becomes a little (!) quieter again, pointing out the amazing violin. the trombone then highlights the last minute of the song and therefore creates an outstanding ending for the song and the entire album. “aye aye” is definitely no jazz song at all but sure knows how to pick up the most essential effects of it. highly recommended and the perfect track to end the album with.

"aye aye" live at the haldern pop festival 2011

overall "june" is a great dance-pop record with some sort of dark-mystic twist, nothing ordinary though, so definitely worth a listen – or two if you don´t mind. 

i certainly learned my lesson and i hope to see julia again next year at haldern. i promise i´ll be more prepared too. 

i´m off to look out for her first album now. meanwhile you should check out her website for more information or if you prefer, julia is also on twitter and facebook.

“june” is out on friday but you can pre-order it on the german amazon site or in the german itunes store. and by the by, amazon ships worldwide, even to you, wherever you are. so no excuses, go ahead and pre-order the album. and most of importantly, enjoy!

julia marcell (photo by jacek barcikowski)