Ms. Feeney returns from an extended break with second album Pages on May 29th and the first track from it is right here. There’s a total St. Vincent vibe to this: all lightness of touch and instrumentation – a gentle chamber-pop song.
Pages was self-produced and Julie composed all of the orchestral parts (which make up all of the instrumentation) – conducting an orchestra (including trumpets, french horns, trombone, vibraphone, clarinet, flute, oboe, bassoon, violins, violas, cellos, double bass, glockenspiel, sticks) over 2 sessions in one day.
Julie Feeney – Love is a Tricky Thing
http://www.myspace.com/juliefeeney
Niall Byrne is the founder of the most-influential Irish music site Nialler9, where he has been writing about music since 2005 . He is the co-host of the Nialler9 Podcast and has written for the Irish Times, Irish Independent, Cara Magazine, Sunday Times, Totally Dublin, Red Bull and more. Niall is a DJ, founder of Lumo Club, club promoter, event curator and producer of gigs, listening parties & events in Dublin.
Really liked the first album. Loving this…
Sounds very interesting indeed. Definitely hear the St Vincent vibe.
Good tune and looking forward to hearing the rest of the album…didnt realise before tweeting at ya that she composed the the tunes as well- excellent!
Brilliant… wow I really cant wait to hear more!
Just what i needed today.
that’s cool! all the subtleties are great. reminds me of the first Regina Spektor album in a really good way.
So much more vibrant and alive than St. Vincent, more organic, tuneful, happy and also it’s pure acoustic. I like St. Vincent but it’s only their voices that are sort of similar. Feeney’s command of ornaments is amazing too. Simply can’t wait to hear the whole album. This has to be one of the first pop albums with just an orchestra? The first?
Mary , it’s more than the voice too. St. Vincent’s new album has some real orchestral songs.
Wow! Her voice is amazing voice – can’t wait to hear more!
But Niall, Feeney’s WHOLE album is only orchestral. And the whole originality of the Feeney lightness of touch and instrumentation, gentle chamber-pop music (if you don’t mind me quoting you) is what she actually embodied on her first album to make her unique sound, and she seems to have taken it further here too. St. Vincent has her own great sound but the essence is completely different, it’s a totally different aloof beauty. Feeney’s is purely acoustic, rawer in one way and less aloof in another, and seems to be way more poppy. I think it does both a disservice to compare them. Feeney is definitely definitely a one off. Just because they both use orchestra doesn’t mean it’s actually musically similar. Feeney has clearly broken huge ground by not using any pop instruments whatsoever. It’s completely undone before. My God have to get this album.
As a first point of reference the St. Vincent comparison quite apt but you’re delving quite deep into the minutaie between them. I like your passion though!
Well passion is a good thing! And there’s way more than minutae. I just think that Julie Feeney is a complete and total original. She brings elements together in a really odd and unique way and is really quite the tunesmith also. But I suppose you’re right, you were only talking vibe not anything else, and that’s allowed! Do you know if she will be streaming any more before the release date?
Don’t think there’s any doubt about Feeney being a once off, she’s defo a true original. Really love this track, Have it on repeat, amazing subtleties I agree with you above. No live dates on her site, anyone know the story?
A nationwide tour will be announced shortly apparently.
Brilliant- cant wait to hear the album!!!
Julie Feeney and Anne Clark (aka St. Vincent) are both stunningly beautiful women and for me that’s where the resemblence ends. I just heard Feeney first so that’s where my heart lies! Can’t get over how brilliant Love is a Tricky Thing sounds; so light, cheeky and uplifting, especially in light of the subject matter. How she manages to make such a spare and purely acoustic composition sound so full I cannot imagne. Though she is utterly different, she reminds me of some of John Barry’s music (though thankfully without his lovely sence of inevitable tragedy!). Love the way her voice is treated in the mix at certain points, and … ahhh ****! Just go and buy the album to see what I mean!