By the time Julie Christmas released her debut solo record, The Bad Wife, in 2010, the Brooklyn visionary singer-songwriter was already one of the most lauded voices in alternative music. Her piercing pipes, as previously heard in the noise rock outfit Made Out of Babies and the post-metal supergroup Battle of Mice, earned critical acclaim. Then, that goodwill was consolidated by her first standalone statement, now returns for a second round. Entitled Ridiculous And Full of Blood, Julie Christmas’ sophomore record is a heart-on-sleeve, chapter-by-chapter storybook of the conflicting elements of her own character, being the most comprehensive declaration of this musician’s talents yet, spanning from alt-pop to post-metal with a staggering array of talent onboard – Vocalist and guitarist Johannes Persson (Cult of Luna), drummer Chris Enriquez (Spotlights), bassist and producer Andrew Schneider (Kenmode/Unsane), guitarist John LaMacchia (Candiria) and keyboardist extraordinaire Tom Tierney were all paramount in bringing these new, genre-smashing tunes to life. Accompanying the announcement comes the first single, “Supernatural”, which can listen to below this article.
“At 20 I said that I was going to be making noise until I opened my mouth and nothing came out but a croak and a thin trickle of blood”, Christmas comments. “Right now I’m stronger and LOUDER than I have ever been. This song was written to sing with people who listen and come to hear. Time doesn’t make you softer, it makes you harder. It also reminds you that you wouldn’t be here without the people you sing with”. On Ridiculous and Full of Blood, Christmas adds, “I want people to hear the sad heroine, vile villains, dreamy characters at play, squalor, madness, longing, challenge, triumph, beauty, and love. This story is a little different, it isn’t all fairytale. It speaks to how human nature defies categorisation. The kindest person commits immeasurable acts of cruelty, the monster loves their friend. We are all like that”. The words all communicate their core personality’s worldview, extending from thoughts as small as her fascination with birds, to opinions on grand topics like religion and warfare. Even the album’s title was penned as a tongue-in-cheek description of how Christmas views herself. “I’m not evolved enough as a human to hide the way I feel. It’s all in there. Music is the place to put it all so you don’t explode. If you are throwing yourself into life it can and should get wild!”, she explains.
Ridiculous And Full Of Blood will be released on June 14th via RED CRK. Pre-orders are now available here.
Photo credit: Fred Gervais
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