I wasn't really a fan of Juliana Hatfield, not with the Blake Babies or solo. I'll admit, I hadn't listened to much, but what I did hear went in one ear and out the other. But then I fell in love with her tributes to Olivia Newton-John and Jeff Lynne. So, at the suggestion of a few readers who were indeed Juliana fans, I listened to a few of her records again. Nothing. In one ear and out the other.
And now there is "Bets," her new surprise record with her contractor Eric Payne. And I am in love again.
Common denominator here- Juliana didn't write the music on any of these three records I love. Maybe that makes her a fantastic interpretor.
"Best" is a quick 29 minutes and there isn't a bad second to be heard, at least not to my ears. Eric Payne wrote all the music and plays all of the instruments, while Hatfield sings and plays a few guitar parts. It's unclear from the Bandcamp page if these are her lyrics.
The songs are chunky and hook-filled. Payne's guitar playing occasionally veers into Verlaine (or Nels Cline) territory and the sound of it all simply slays me.
Unless I am really dense, none of the songs are on YouTube. So you'll have to fend for yourselves.
https://julianahatfieldandericpayne.bandcamp.com/album/bets
ReplyDeleteI wasn't a fan until the Newton-John covers thing either. Thanks for the heads up on the new stuff.
ReplyDeleteHer contractor? So he was adding a deck to her home and they decided to record an album? Cool!
ReplyDeleteOne of your best titles ever
ReplyDeleteI dig the record -- "chunky and hook-filled" indeed! Thanks Sal.
ReplyDeleteListening to album on Apple Music now. Juliana first came onto my radar from reading the book Rumours of My Demise by Evan Dando of the Lemonheads. Apparently Evan and Juliana frequently collaborated together.
ReplyDeleters