Skip to main content

Julia McDonald - Gravity (2016)



OFFICIAL: http://www.juliamcdonaldmusic.com/
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/juliamcdonaldmusic

Written by Jay Snyder, posted by blog admin

A 6-track indie/pop/dub spectacle is the fruit of Julia McDonald’s hard musical labor.  The songstress writes her own material and, at 19, is chasing and reaching her artistic goals with immense hunger.  This sweet vibration emanating from these six songs definitely have the pop hooks to catch a lot of ears, but those who listen closely will hear some other sounds developing in her arsenal that sets her apart from the crowded pack. 

The title track is all about feeling and how to build on it; beginning as a lone keyboard/vocal arrangement that benefits from an acoustic interjection or two, as the structure of the song congeals digital beats push the chorus to great heights and everything settles into place. It showcases McDonald’s talent for wringing all that she can out of a vocal melody or musical arrangement.  “Games” shifts the EP into a slinking, snaking groove that employs energetic guitar lines, snappy drum programming, lush synthesizer melodies and a prominent lyrical hook.  The way Julia makes quick runs through the verses and slower, more direct phrasing in the chorus craft a catchy number with multiple personalities agreeing for the good of the song.

Halting the tempos and going for a sing-song winner, “Pretty Committee” is all line and hook. Nothing sinks it. Undulating, swooping bass lines, minimal percussion and speckles of keyboard provide a compelling set-up in the verses before the chorus serves up a firm melody.  It’s pop without the pretense and instead of placing its chips on above-average hooks that bring pay-off in the chorus.  Elsewhere, “No Good for Me” features the most enticing vocal parts on the release while “Something to Talk About” equally balances the rock format with FM radio accoutrements and the beat-laden, digital dive of “Simpler Things” provides an atmosphere completely appropriate for its closing status.

Though the strength of the material leaves you wanting more songs and sometimes the production needs a little more push, Julia McDonald has dropped an awesome introductory record in Gravity.  She is already receiving deals from major television companies and getting her music played on radio stations across the country illustrating just how kinetic and catchy this 19 year old’s songs are.  Hopefully a full-length recording is on the way because McDonald has proven that she is more than able to stretch her songwriting to fit several different musical molds.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Black Note Graffiti - Volume II: Without Nothing I'm You (2017)

OFFICIAL: http://blacknotegraffiti.com/ FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/BlackNoteGraffiti TWITTER: https://twitter.com/blacknotegraffi Written by Raymond Burris, posted by blog admin The second full length release from Ann Arbor’s Black Note Graffiti, Volume 2: Without Nothing I’m You, is an eleven song collection that positions this (then) four piece to rise several more notches in the world of indie rock. The band, furthermore, crackles with the potential to take their act far outside the warm but relatively narrow confines of the indie scene. Rock and its musical progeny may swim upstream commercially in our modern music world, but what that means is that the limited room for viable acts culls the fat off the genre and those who boast marquee status truly deserve it. The band’s talents are considerable – musically, vocally, and lyrically. The growth they’ve exhibited since their 2013 debut is surely the result of the inherent talent they’re dealing with, but it
Post a Comment
Read more

Joshua Ketchmark - Under Plastic Stars (2017)

OFFICIAL: http://www.joshuaketchmark.com/ FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/josh.ketchmark Written by Jay Snyder, posted by blog admin From the opening, gentle strum the heart-warming, tumbleweed kicking love song, “We Were Everything” and culminating in the rhythmically pulsating, winding electric guitar leads and spitfire soul vocals of closer “The Great Unknown,” it’s clear that Joshua Ketchmark has arrived.   Hailing from his humble beginnings in Peoria, Illinois and eventually carving a path to every big-time music city in the USA (LA just to name one of many places), Ketchmark is now twelve releases strong in a music career that spans too many genres to count.   Though he primarily operates in old school folk, country, pop and r & b, he also branches out into rock, blues and delicate balladry whenever the mood strikes him.    After the fiery lead-in of “We Were Everything,” Joshua switches into ballad mode with quiet acoustic guitar, deeply mixed and lay
Post a Comment
Read more

Yam Haus - Stargazer (2018)

OFFICIAL : http://www.yamhaus.com/ FACEBOOK: https://www. facebook.com/yamhaus TWITTER: https://twitter.com/YAMHAUSBand Written by Raymond Burris, posted by blog admin Yam Haus’ debut album Stargazer begins in rousing fashion. The title song opens the album with a short flurry of synthesizer sounds before shifting into stomping guitar and drum driven verses. The slashing guitar work gives the song a great deal of bounce while the drumming contrasts that with straight forward power and Lars Pruitt’s smooth, gliding vocal tone provides the finishing touch for the track. The lyrics don’t remake the wheel or aspire to poetic excellence, but they are a cut above typical fare in this style. “West Coast” has a much more retro slant than the title song, definitely recalling the 1980’s moreso than recent history, but it never looks back to that music too reverentially. The production distinguishes this song, like it does the album across the board, and has a physically engag
Post a Comment
Read more