Single Review
Julie Hawk – Take Off Your Suit
Indie folk singer Julie Hawk will release a free single on 22nd July 2013 as a taster for her forthcoming EP. Take Off Your Suit and b-side The Postcard give a good introduction to a talented musician who has a lovely voice and writes songs with meaning.
Hawk, born Julie Hough in Galway, Ireland, is now London based and plays mainly with a band, having started out primarily as an acoustic musician. Her vocals are very interesting. She has a strong and passionate voice yet there is a delicacy to her delivery and occasional idiosyncratic moments where she hits some very high notes. An Irish Kate Bush perhaps?
Take Off Your Suit is a reflection on images we create for ourselves, using the metaphor of the four queens from a pack of playing cards. The mid-paced track has a good bass line and Hawk’s vocals are restrained, always threatening to cut loose but never quite doing so. And the high notes that punctuate the verses seem quite effortless. It’s a well crafted track and the faster ending allows Hawk to show that she can add strong emotion to her vocal without compromising its quality.
The Postcard is a slower track about lost love. Hawk’s vocals over an acoustic guitar portray the heartbreak of the lyrics perfectly, dripping with regret. There is more of a folk feel to this one, and it develops nicely into a passionate lament. If anything I like this one even more than the a-side.
If you don’t already know Julie Hawk’s music, then this pair of songs gives you a good opportunity to have a listen.
Venue: Take Off Your Suit
Support Band: self