If Julie B didn't front a progressive rock band called Quark Quintet, compose electronic and chamber music for a variety of artists and perform dreamy piano-based solo pop songs, she would make one hell of a torch singer. On Story So Far, the Milwaukee-based artist sings airy songs about the dark corners of the human condition, with a powerfully earthy but sweet voice. Her lyrics have been described as "Dada-esque," and that's an accurate assessment. With a piano providing the only instrumentation, Julie B relies on her voice to carry the emotions of the music, and she often performs multiple movements in single songs. "Now Is Always" and "Fallaway Man" are sultry, slow-burn jazz numbers that don't quite fit with more pop-oriented material like "Lent" (on which Julie B double-tracks her own vocals) and "I Made It Myself" (a devastatingly melodic song that will haunt you, if you let it). But that dichotomy is what makes the record work. The artwork for Story So Far features Julie B's paintings, adding to the album's sparse, ethereal beauty.
Track Listing:
1) Stay Perfect
2) I Made It Myself
3) Now Is Always
4) Past Tense
5) Lent
6) Fallaway Man
7) Bye Bye Blackbird/Missinvisible
8) Red Wedding Day
9) Onions and Warzones
10) In Burns the Light
11) Box of Clothes
12) Strands
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