Julie Arsenault – Nothing Sweeter (2023)  


Review:
On her second studio album Nothing Sweeter, Canada’s best-kept secret Julie Arsenault sings about topics like depression, social awkwardness, and sexism with heart-wrenching rawness and tender honesty. The accompanying PR with this album says, “Please refrain from listening if you are in a hurry”. That is definitely good advice. This is an intense and sometimes challenging album that goes from the super confident. “ You call me an idiot but I don’t give a shit. I’m brilliant” on ‘Light one up’ to the very challenged. “ My head feels like it’s in a pool full of cement and the pain is too much for me to bear”. This is from the song ‘Womanhood’ where she also tells us she is losing patience with the Government and the kids next door have learned to swear. If these two are related, it is not clear. ‘Nothing Sweeter’ is the Canadian’s second album which is short and to the point. Of the eight tracks, only three are longer than three minutes. This is a definite case of less is more. Each is a little vignette. Short stories that cover depression, sexism, and social awkwardness amongst other topics. The production is very sparse and uncomplicated with Arsenault’s voice very much to the fore but throughout it’s always understated with a dreamlike quality. Giving the impression that despite numerous anxieties she is a woman in control of her emotions. It has an inert calmness to it, suggesting a comfort with herself. It has the same qualities as her fellow Canadian Amelia Curran. — by Rick Thorn on americanaUK


   


Track List:
01 - 'Womanhood'
02 - Start Again
03 - Homeschool
04 - Where I'm Sitting
05 - Nearer
06 - Riverdale Bridge
07 - Tiny Beam of Light
08 - Light One Up


Media Report:
Genre: dream-pop, indie-folk
Country: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Format: FLAC
Format/Info: Free Lossless Audio Codec
Bit rate mode: Variable
Channel(s): 2 channels
Sampling rate: 44.1 KHz
Bit depth: 16 bits
Compression mode: Lossless
Writing library: libFLAC 1.2.1 (UTC 2007-09-17)


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