OFFICIAL: http://www.juliamcdonaldmusic.com/
Written
by William Elgin, posted by blog admin
Julia
McDonald’s first studio release Gravity is a six song EP with an outstanding
amount of variety. She emerges on this initial recording as a confident
performer and writer who has an unbelievable mastery over the forms she tackles
and putting across her point of view. The songs are obviously geared for
hopeful commercial success, but McDonald brings a level of artistry to her
performances and songwriting that makes this far more than just entertaining
commercial trifles. These songs end up sounding and feeling like intensely
personal statements that are totally accessible for any listener. Casual and
devoted music fans alike will flock to this release for repeated hearings. She’s
set a high standard for herself with this first offering and it comes out of
the gates with a sense of purpose more properly ascribed to an experienced
songwriter instead of a nineteen year old writer and performer.
“Gravity”
is a title track that will linger in your memory after even a single listen.
McDonald’s lyrical facility is very real and she writes about her experience in
a visceral, deeply felt way that explores familiar themes with a language all
her own. The songs on Gravity often have a genuine literary flair that never
interferes with the musical experience but, instead, enhances it for McDonald’s
audience. “Games” is more of a pure pop song than many of the EP’s tracks, but
it deals with the same adult subject matter that she tackles in “Gravity” with
remarkable sophistication and maturity. The rhythms and tempo of the song will
undoubtedly hook listeners in and McDonald delivers a challenging vocal without
ever betraying a single misgiving. She brings a wonderfully complete and well
rounded talent to the songs on this release that’s practically prodigy-like in
the way it dominates this material.
“Pretty
Committee” is one of the best pieces on the album and has a sharp musical and
lyrical point of view. There’s a more deliberate approach on this song than the
preceding “Games”, but the track embraces some of the same commercial
characteristics defining that earlier song. The percussion is employed in a
much more stripped back manner and the crescendos have a stronger impact
thanks, in part, to the generally more relaxed demeanor of the piece. “No Good
for Me” is another highlight of the release thanks, if nothing else, to its
withering emotional honesty. Few songwriters dare to deal with writing from the
first person while also portraying themselves in a less than flattering light.
The bitter realities of a dysfunctional relationship isn’t typically
entertaining fodder so McDonald wisely contrasts the intense lyrical content
with a sweeter musical landscape. “Something to Talk About” has a much more traditional
singer/songwriter slant than any of the other tracks and eschews the pop
elements defining those other songs in favor of acoustic instrumentation. The
production is so keyed in to rendering the song clearly that you can hear
occasionally hearing the guitarist changing chords. It has an inexorable tempo that
picks up the pace in the song’s second half. There’s an exceptional, brief guitar
break in the second half as well. “Simpler Things” ends the EP on an intense
note and uses the electronic trappings heard on other songs in a darker fashion
than any previous cut. Julia McDonald’s career gets off to a blazing start with
Gravity and her potential seems completely limitless.
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