Juliana Hatfield
Country of origin:
U.S.
Type of music generally:
Alternately crunchy and twee indie pop—rock
Status:
Most recent release, There's Always Another Girl (2011)
See also:
Juliana Hatfield's official site
Comparisons:
Often compared to alternative singer—songwriters like Tanya Donelly and Liz Phair and to more melodic artists like Mary Lou Lord
Covers/own material:
Own
General comments:
Juliana Hatfield was with the Blake Babies before going solo.
Comments about live performance:
Joe's Pub 21st May: Slow strummy guitar songs with pleasant piano accompaniment. Relationships and drugs and relationships with people on drugs. All new songs except "You choose drugs" which was particularly pretty (but also slow and strummy and druggy). Three covers—"Bad moon rising", "It's only rock and roll (but I like it)" and, oddly, "What's a girl to do" by Bat for Lashes. Juliana didn't introduce any of the covers, which is fine for the recognizable ones but not fair on Bat for Lashes—surrounded by completely new material, most of the audience would think it's her music.
The songs that deviated from pleasant strumminess were best. A bloke from Nada Surf added vocals and guitar color to a song about a pretty girl in an ugly world; a bloke from Fountains of Wayne added melody and rawk to two songs. Juliana urged the audience to sing along to a cute grumpy number ["Just Lust" from How to Walk Away] about letting in a drunken lover at 3am, "it's just lust, it doesn't mean I love you" (and later, "I might not even like you").
We laughed when she told how she had dug an old Dead Kennedys' button out of her drawer and attached it to her purse, but then Ted got sick and she felt as his constituent she should remove the button. She dedicated the final number 'He's on drugs again' to its author, Some Girls bandmate LonPaul Ellrich, who died a couple weeks ago.
She'll tour with a band when the new album comes out in August. I wouldn't see her again with just a piano/backing vocalist, but with fuller sounds and drums it could be worth it. (5/08, k_hester_k@yahoo.co.nz)
Recommended first album:
I would absolutely recommend Only Everything first.. great lyrics, catchy songs.. I think it's one of her best. (lasherboy@gmail.com)
Recordings:
- I See You EP (1992)
- Forever Baby EP (1992)
- Hey Babe (1992)
- Become What You Are (as The Juliana Hatfield Three, 1993)
- My Sister EP (as The Juliana Hatfield Three, 1993)
- For the Birds EP (as The Juliana Hatfield Three, 1993)
- Spin the Bottle EP (as The Juliana Hatfield Three, 1993)
- Only Everything (1995)
- Universal Heart—Beat EP (1995)
- Please Do Not Disturb EP (1997)
- Bed (1998)
- Beautiful Creature (2000)
- Juliana's Pony: Total System Failure (2000)
- Gold Stars 1992—2002: The Juliana Hatfield Collection (2002)
- In Exile Deo (2004)
- Made in China (2005)
- The White Broken Line: Live Recordings (live, 2006)
- Sittin' in a Tree EP (with Frank Smith, 2007)
- How to Walk Away (2008)
- Peace and Love (2010)
- There's Always Another Girl (2011)
How to Walk Away
Release info:
2008—Ye Olde Records—YOR 006
Availability:
Wide
Ecto priority:
Highly recommended
Group members:
Juliana Hatfield—vocals, acoustic and electric rhythm guitars, acoustic guitar, lead guitars, 12—string, guitar, piano, keyboards, heavy breathing
Guest artists:
Andy Chase (Ivy)—keyboards, electric keyboards, arpeggio guitars, electric rhythm guitar, loop, synths, drum program, melodika, overdubbed high bass, background vocals
Jody Porter—lead guitar, atmospheric guitars, guitar embellishments
Jeff Hill—bass, cello
Ethan Eubanks—drums, drum fills
Tracy Bonham—violins
Peter Adams—piano
Jason Hatfield—piano
Richard Butler—background vocals (3)
Rudyard Lee Cullers—background vocals (6)
Matthew Caws—background vocals (9)
Produced by:
Andy Chase (of Ivy)
Comments:
I had a couple of Juliana's early albums but haven't followed her career. I got interested again after hearing about her new memoir (though I haven't read it yet). How to Walk Away is a real treat. It's very melodic pop but retains some of the crunchiness of Juliana's early albums. One of my favorite albums of 2008. (JoAnn Whetsell)I've been a fan of Juliana Hatfield (and her work with the Blake Babies) since the mid-'90s, but haven't cared for much of her stuff since Bed. This is a surprisingly good batch of songs from her. Great music, lyrics, production. Worth checking out! (lasherboy@gmail.com)
Further info:
Juliana is the author of When I Grow Up: A Memoir (2008). Recordings that only appear on compilations include "Yeh, Yeh" on the Fathers and Songs soundtrack; "Make It Home" on the My So-Called Life soundtrack; "Josie and The Pussycats" with Tanya Donelly on Saturday Morning; "Waves" on Volume 13: The Lucky Issue; "Witches' Song" on The Craft soundtrack; "Silly Goofball Pomes" on Kerouac: Kicks Joy Darkness; "$1,000 Wedding" with Evan Dando, on Return of the Grievous Angel: A Tribute to Gram Parsons; "Harder and Deeper" on the Condo Painting soundtrack; "Nothing Ever Happens" on the Freaky Friday soundtrack; "Going Nowhere" on Too Many Years; "Don't Lie to Me" on Big Star Small World; "Back To Freedom" on The Green Owl Compilation.
Thanks to JoAnn Whetsell for work on this entry.
