Julia Macklin
Country of origin:
U.S.
Type of music generally:
Ethereal, evocative/eclectic (varied musical influences put together into something evocative & new), folk/pop
Status:
Sadly, Julia Macklin died in 2013. Final release, Unbroken (2010)
See also:
Julia Macklin's facebook page
Comparisons:
Jill Cohn
Covers/own material:
Own, occasional covers
General comments:
Julia Macklin has a stunningly sublime ethereal voice. Her voice has a serene, dreamy, quality that makes you feel as if you are floating with the music. Beautiful guitar, beautiful lyrics, and a beautiful voice are Julia Macklin's strengths. Her music is indeed very ectoish—and terrific, too. (billonline@adlerbooks.com)
Recommended first album:
As the song goes, it's always best to start at the beginning, and so it is with Julia Macklin. Take a listen to her first EP. (billonline@adlerbooks.com)
Recordings:
- Julia Macklin ep (1998)
- half wild (2001)
- Unbroken (2010)
Julia Macklin ep
Release info:
1998—self-released
Availability:
CD Baby
Ecto priority:
Recommended; very ecto
Group members:
Julia Macklin—vocals, acoustic guitar
Guest artists:
Marina Belica (October Project)—harmonic vocals, keyboards
Tom Curiano—drums, percussion, keyboards, guitars
Julian Coryell—guitars, bass, strings
Jon Ossman—bass, stick, e-bow
Dan Hovey—guitars
Rob Curto—accordion
Produced by:
Tom Curiano
Comments:
There's a lot of sadness in Julia Macklin's songs, but this EP—her first release—isn't sad. From the lead song, "Never Mind":
My love...
Never mind, never mind. I'll take what you offer.
Be it heavy or light, I'll take what I can get.
From "Long Day," another song on this EP:
It's been a long day,
It's been a long life—
hmmm
I don't want to be alone tonight—
hmmm
I hold my breath and wait for dawn
And from "Promise:"
I could love another man
another saint, another idol,
but why would I?
...everything I touch turns to dust
You would think that such songs would be real downers, perfect for inducing tears in people in even in the most emotionally stoic among us. But her songs don't do that. Instead, they offer a introspective look that helps bring alive those feelings that may have been hidden or even lost for a long time. The emotion in these songs is raw and powerful.
One of the endearing elements of this ep is that unlike many other albums about love and loss that incorporate obtuse, overly-poetic lyrics, Julia Macklin's songs are poignantly straightforward. Not simple, but rather you don't feel like you need the assistance of your college English teacher to interpret them.
The CD itself is a high-quality production, with a carefully arranged balance between music and lyrics. Some of the songs are slow and pensive, others tend toward the rock end of the folk spectrum. All in all, a remarkable debut. (billonline@adlerbooks.com)
half wild
Release info:
2001—self-released
Availability:
CD Baby
Ecto priority:
Recommended for ectophiles, very ecto!
Group members:
Julia Macklin—vocals, acoustic guitar
Guest artists:
Marina Belica (October Project)—harmonic vocals
Chris Cunningham—acoustic guitar, percussion, bass, drum programming, samples, harmonium, mandolin, keyboards, organ, electric guitars, lap steel, e-bow, baritone electric guitar, frame drum, cymbals, bouzoukis, convolved guitars, 12-string acoustic guitar, rain
Tom Curiano—drums, talking drum, percussion
Ethan Eubanks—drums, electric guitar, bells, rhodes, percussion
Whynot Jansveld—bass
Jason Lehning—mellotron
Produced by:
7 tracks by Chris Cunningham; 2 tracks by Ethan Eubanks)
Comments:
Often a CD's title gives an apt description of its contents. But not so with Julia Macklin's Half Wild—or at least it's not what you expect it to be. A title like Half Wild gives the impression that you're going to be listening to a rough and tumble album, with loud lyrics and coarse music. Half Wild, like Julia Macklin's EP, is quite the opposite: It's dreamy and wistful, with soft melodies. But Half Wild is rough and tumble with your emotions. Its no-holds-barred lyrics speak to the heart.
Like her EP, Half Wild's songs are about love and loss. Here's a sample from the song "Send me Dreaming":
I stay out every night
and I sleep until the afternoon
anything to make the day go by
Sad to be sure, but, as in her EP, these songs are not going to drive you to the depths of despair. In fact, the loss expressed in Half Wild's songs is in some strange way uplifting. Perhaps because you sense that the loss expressed in these songs is just a passing thing—that something much better is about to happen.
The very special quality in Half Wild is the striking mood it sets. This isn't mood music—but the way in which the sounds resonate in your head creates an ambience inside your head.
Half Wild is a well-crafted CD. Just as a dreamy mood sets in, Macklin launches into the third song, "Tea With the Dead," an edgy love (or loss) song, which replaces the softer guitar with more jagged music. "Tea With the Dead" will strike a chord with anyone who's tried to do anything—everything possible—to win back a love and who finally realizes that nothing's going to work: "It's getting cold, I'm getting tired. I dance around to keep warm, but you don't seem to give a damn..."
Well, you should give a damn about a songwriter with so much emotion and spirit. (billonline@adlerbooks.com)I am positively in LOVE with it. (ecalos@earthlink.net)
Am enjoying Half Wild and can recommend it to all ectophiles. It's very nice. (stjarnell@yahoo.com)
Further info:
Email julia@juliamacklin.com
Thanks to Bill Adler for work on this entry.
