Julie – ‘my anti-aircraft friend’ album review: the noisier the better
THE SKINNY: There’s a certain sound that the internet seems to love. That sweet spot between shoegaze, 1990s grunge and noise-rock, often accompanied by imagery that would receive endless reblogs if Tumblr was still in its heyday. Sitting somewhere between the gritty stylings of Nirvana and the feedback-laden sounds of the modern shoegaze revival, Californian trio Julie completely embody that sound and style, nostalgic and internet-friendly all at once.
It makes sense, then, that the band have already found favour with online communities. Even with no full-length releases to their name, Julie have endeared themselves to Tiktok users and shoegaze enthusiasts alike via their noisy, cathartic take on the genre and their carefully curated, all lowercase aesthetic. This cult following is sure to be delighted by their first album, my anti-aircraft friend.
The debut record is the band’s most fully realised execution of these ideas yet, burying listeners in a constant cloud of deafening guitars and difficult-to-penetrate lyrics. Flitting between two vocalists as needed, they offset soft harmonies and straightforward phrasing with near-constant torrents of scuzzy strums and feedback.
There are some obvious reference points on the record — nods to Kurt Cobain and to the pioneers of shoegaze — but Julie don’t rely on these influences too heavily. my anti-aircraft friend isn’t just a 1990s nostalgia trip, it’s an album that updates those genres for a modern audience and executes the collective vision of Julie in the process.
For fans of: Constantly checking your own Last.fm stats.
A concluding comment from Julie’s pedalboard: “Please stop stepping on me.”
my anti-aircraft friend track by track:
Label: Atlantic Records | Release date: 13th September
‘catalogue’: Indie rock is a genre that is best served scuzzy. Julie set out to prove this statement from the opening moments of my anti-aircraft friend with ‘catalogue’, a collage of screeching and deafening guitars paired with detached vocals. “I don’t feel sexy,” the singer admits, “I don’t feel amused.” [3.5/5]
‘tenebrist’: Julie continue to prove that the noisier their music is, the better. ‘tenebrist’ is a torrent of growling guitars, dreamy backing vocals and hopeless lyrics. It’s confrontational, both sonically and lyrically, as the vocalist repeatedly declares, “You lost me now.” [3/5]
‘very little effort’: “Muted, calm, malaise,” begins the third entry on my anti-aircraft friend and, from the opening of the song, it almost seems like Julie might lean further into those descriptors. But a more subdued opening is quickly offset once more by clamorous strums and foreboding instrumentation. [3.5/5]
‘clairbourne practice’: Julie’s two vocalists come together on ‘clairbourne practice’, pasting perfect harmonies over harsh shoegaze soundscapes. Lyrically, it’s steeped in indecision and insecurity, as the pair declare, “What a way to make your day, oh, I don’t know, you just said so…” [3.5/5]
‘knob’: The first real moment of calm on my anti-aircraft friend comes with ‘knob’, which devotes almost half of its runtime to a softer, singular guitar. The lyrics are softer, too, allowing Julie’s words to come into clearer view without clashing strums surrounding them. Eventually, the band revert to their noisier leanings, but the song remains one of the most vulnerable on the record. [4/5]
‘thread, stitch’: Julie’s vocalists take turns on ‘thread stitch’, delivering alternate verses over those increasingly familiar but continually affecting strums. Their voices, soft and simple, offset the thumping and feedback-laden strums that adorn them. [3/5]
‘feminine adornments’: ‘feminine adornments’ is one of the most interesting efforts on my anti-aircraft friend, providing some new, jagged guitar plucks and some truly intriguing lyrics. “I’ll come around, I’ll defile,” the vocalists lists the title feminine adornments, “I’ll be clean, I’ll be mean and raw.” [4/5]
‘i’ll cook my own meals’: The influence of grunge pioneers Nirvana bleeds into ‘i’ll cook my own meals’ in abundance, in the Kurt Cobain-style vocals, in the 1990s-infused guitar tones, even in the lyrics. “Don’t you start, can’t you agree,” they sing, “opens your eyelids to let you breathe (bleed).” It’s one of the grittiest efforts on the album. [3.5/5]
‘piano instrumental’: The penultimate track, perhaps expectedly, certainly isn’t a piano instrumental. Julie aren’t putting down their electric guitars in favour of white and black keys anytime soon, but ‘piano instrumental’ is a blistering track despite the off-putting name. [3.5/5]
‘stuck in a car with angels’: ‘stuck in a car with angels’ still has those shoegazing, scuzzy guitars that Julie have made their trademark, but it also feels like a moment of respite to conclude my anti-aircraft friend. Their lyrics are soft — “dayglow, she doesn’t notice much, wind blows,” they sing, only allowing the noisiness to drown them out right at the end. [3.5/5]
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