video: "Natural" - Julia Shapiro
words: Joel Parmer
Julia Shapiro has made a massive mark on the Seattle music scene and far beyond. Since 2010 she’s been singing and playing guitar in groups including Who Is She?, Chastity Belt and Childbirth, releasing an ever growing catalog. Recently, Shapiro announced a release date for her upcoming solo album, Perfect Version. Shapiro played a major role in recording and mixing the release, taking a “recording collage” approach: four tracks were recorded and mixed with with Ian LeSage at the Vault Studio and six tracks taken on by Shapiro in her apartment (aside from drums being added slightly later in the studio).
In addition to announcing the new album, a video for the intro track “Natural” was released. While the tone of “Natural” certainly gives a nod to some of the stylistic features from Chastity Belt’s previous work, it’s evident that Shapiro's album will take a new form. The track is somewhat jangly, entirely lo-fi-atmospheric, and charmingly singer-songwriter. The song swirls around catchy chord progressions, an anchor of minimalist drums and bass, and ends on a sparse but beautifully tremolo-picked guitar lead. Shapiro’s voice sparkles in the mix, all the while creating introspective lyrical overtones.
The video features a reel of footage, oftentimes rotoscoped, that was filmed from car and ferry. Shots of Shapiro singing alongside clever stop motion style storylines chronicle an adventure of a somewhat punk stuffed bunny rabbit walking their dog, a bear catching a meal, and bees and gummy worms. Check out the memorable track and video below and pre-order Shapiro’s record via Hardly Art Records.