Woke Myself Up
Julie Doiron makes quiet music. Once a member of the Canadian indie rock band Eric’s Trip, Doiron invites her old bandmates to join her here in limited capacity, filling the backing with just enough shuffle to move her thoughts to the next stage. “Don’t Wannabe/Liked By You” is perhaps the most unsettling moment where she admits, “I don’t want to be loved by you/ I never understood your scene” and “The Wrong Guy” hits a sudden burst of feedback in the midst of its gentle, spare confessional. But, in the end, Doiron is not someone who knows how to collaborate. Her music requires a small room and these moments where she expands her sound come across as gratuitous nods towards a sense that she should vary her approach. Her best, most affecting moments are the simple acoustics of “Me and My Friend,” the childlike, calm endeavor behind the slight rock lurch of “Yer Kids” and the old-time sense behind the folk ballad “Swan Pond.”
We all are driven to doing certain things and making certain decisions in our lives for any number of reasons, be it ambition, fear, greed or love. The last purpose is perhaps the most identifiable to most of us, and so it is no great mystery that that which drives us can both reward us immensely and plummet us into the greatest depths of inconsolable sadness and regret. On Julie Doiron’s first album of new material in over two years, she addresses in her signature intimate songwriting style both the heights and the fallout in a way that forces the listener to reexamine their own loves. One of the most important and greatest loves in Julie’s life is that towards her family. The first half of Woke Myself Up details the joy and awe that her family has given her. Immediately, one knows that her unabashed and unaffected lyrics are coming from a woman truly moved. The second half sees Julie making mistakes, blowing second chances, and coming to terms with the sad truth that one cannot live up to expectations set by herself or those she loves. The harrowing untitled final track (recorded and added to the album at the eleventh hour by Doiron) may very well be the most affecting of Doiron’s performances ever committed to tape. Also important to the recording of this album was a reunion of sorts with her musical family. Founding Eric’s Trip bandmate Rick White produced and played on the entire album, and a handful of the songs contain the entire original Eric’s Trip band nucleus that took the Canadian indie underground by storm 15 years ago. Working with an old friend and collaborator like White was key to this album’s intensely vulnerable and emotionally raw tone. What’s captured is timeless and universal, in the same way as Cat Power’s Moon Pix, Leonard Cohen’s Songs of Love And Hate, and Joni Mitchell’s Blue. Julie Doiron began her career in music in 1990 at the age of 18 in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada playing bass in Eric’s Trip, a folky yet psychedelic band that were to become the undisputed underground darlings of Canadian music. Eric’s Trip were the first of many maritime Canadians signed to Sub Pop and found international recognition, releasing several albums and touring widely. Following 1996’s Purple Blue, Eric’s Trip announced their breakup and Julie Doiron embarked on her solo career, first releasing songs as “Broken Girl” but later under her own name. She has released six full-lengths and two EPs prior to Woke Myself Up, including the Juno Award-winning Julie Doiron & the Wooden Stars album.
Canadian singer/songwriter's latest album-- much of which constitutes a virtual reunion of her original band, Eric's Trip-- is yet another intimate affair with moments of homespun beauty.
Those not predisposed to melancholy songs of domestic joy and sorrow might choke on Julie Doiron's naked, irony-free earnestness: Setting aside knee-jerk defenses to spare songs about family and feelings is necessary to enjoy Woke Myself Up, the Canadian singer-songwriter's seventh album. Re-teaming with members of…
On Woke Myself Up, Julie Doiron plays with her Eric's Trip bandmates Mark Gaudet, Chris Thompson, and Rick White (who also produced the album) for the first time since the group broke up after 1996's Purple Blue.