Spectreview: Julia Shapiro – “Natural” [single]

-MAGENTA-

“How can you love yourself so damn much?
It isn’t natural”

Julia Shapiro, better than most indie wordsmiths working today, knows how to get at the heart of depressive suffering. Her band Chastity Belt’s I Used To Spend So Much Time Alone was a brilliant examination of the cyclical nature of depression, and Shapiro continues to showcase her familiarity with the great grayness on the first single from her upcoming debut solo album, Perfect Vision. The song’s demo-like feel, as well as the ramshackle quality of the accompanying music video, enhances the starkness of Shapiro’s lyrics, which chill the skin with their plaintive honesty. Not to assume that Shapiro regularly experiences the kind of lowness painted so vividly in her songs, but when she sings about failing to understand self-compassion or seeking nothing more than self-reliance, it’s hard not to relate on a deep level. The downcast aesthetic she’s perfected is in full swing here, but the soft mixing of the drums and vocals, as well as the tender Mellotron-like guitar solo on the fadeout, add unique volumes to the track’s immersive sense of melancholy. Hopefully the cool tricks “Natural” pulls make it onto the album at large, as Shapiro has delivered one of the best alternative singles of the year so far.

Recommended after a few hours of trying to get out of bed.