Julie Peel

September 18, 2009

I get a lot of e-mails now that I write for a music blog. Like, a lot. I don’t always get through them in a timely manner, but I try and sift through it all at least once a week. It’s generally a bunch of stuff I don’t care about, but sometimes I come up with something that makes me glad I took the time to sort through the junk. Something like Julie Peel.

Peel’s debut album Near the Sun is filled with wonderful, mostly-acoustic pop songs. I shouldn’t be surprised that someone from France makes good pop music, but I also twice tried to heat up a Ding Dong in the microwave while it was still in the foil. The whole record is good, but the more subdued songs are where Peel really shines. “Living in a Movie” is a bright and bouncy little ditty, but is made better by the hint of melancholy just around the edges. Actually, that sums up Peel’s music pretty well. The whole record works as an excellent soundtrack to the changing seasons, happy and upbeat so you can enjoy the weather, but also bittersweet because there is always that lingering feeling that it won’t last.

The closing track “Alone” is another of Near the Sun’s highlights. Peel’s guitar strums a lullaby while she sings about, well, being alone. The rosy music betrays the doleful lyrics, especially when you throw in what sounds like one of those homemade kazoos where you put wax paper over a comb. She makes it work, though. Peel’s music is the sound of enjoying the good, but recognizing the bad isn’t far behind. After all, the sweet isn’t as sweet without the sour.

MP3 Julie Peel – Living in a Movie
MP3 Julie Peel – Alone

Posted by Matt in Artist Spotlight