julie: my anti-aircraft friend album feature

While I do not remember exactly the first time I heard a Julie song,

I do know that they have not left my listening habits since then. Their single 2020 “Flutter” Immediately captures the listeners attention with a cacophony of sounds that cannot be traced back to one single genre or a single influence. They are a mix of shoegaze, post-punk, and post-grunge all into one, needless to say I was hooked. Since then I have eagerly awaited the announcement of their debut album, and now “my anti-aircraft friend” has arrived and it is everything I was hoping it would be.

Rather than combine their previously released EPs and singles into one feature the LA three piece (bassist/vocalist A*lexandria Elizabeth, guitarist/vocalist Keyan Pourzand and drummer Dillon Lee*) took their time and crafted an album with all brand new songs (besides the opener catalogue which was released as a single in 2023) in order further experiment with sound and push their creative boundaries further.

As I said as a fan, the album is everything I wanted from the band, more julie songs. There are very few bands for me that have no skips in their discography and despite only being 4 years old as a project Julie is one of them. With “my anti-aircraft friend” they are padding out their amateur stats and proving that they are ready for the big time and I am more than looking forward to where they go from here and how their sound can continue to evolve.

My personal favorite song on the album is the single “very little effort” which is a combination of everything the band does best. Including a heavy hitting but catchy bass line leading into a swarm of guitar and crashing drums before slowing down during the chorus to do it all over again. Both vocalists get a chance to shine here and the song really is a testament to how well they all play together and use their individual skills to shine.

Julie is still in its early years as a band but the fact that they sound this good and are finding so much success, (opening for Faye Webster) is a great sign for things to come and I look forward to a future where “my anti-aircraft friend” is regarded as a classic of the 2020s alternative sound.

You can catch Julie at Thalia Hall, October 15th with support from TAGABOW and Her New Knife, hope to see you there.