All those who have been wistfully waiting for Julia A. Noack’s new record have finally a good reason to be happy: It’s May 2010, and the Berlin based musician releases her 2nd album. Her debut had already been praised by the critics as a mature, varied, enchantingly beautiful debut feature with long-term character. Since then, Julia A. Noack has continued working on her music, always searching for new influences and experiences which are the matrix for her sometimes melancholic-dark, sometimes light-footed and playful songs. Her new record attests to this searching and finding and is characterized by new departures and dynamic.
The mere title, 69.9, raises questions. Is this a radio-frequency, a measuring unit, an indication of temperature? Or is this only about the form character of these numbers? 69.9 is only one decimal place away from 70. If an arbitrary, fictive line is drawn there, we are thus in a moment of hold, of suspense, and of the uncertainty: What happens when the digits jump to 70? Which border will be crossed and is it advisable or rather dangerous to cross it?
This feel of suspense and change are inherent in the entire record. Whereas Julia A. Noack’s songs on the first album had more of a Singer/Songwriter look, 69.9 reveals new facets. This distinctive voice of hers still goes right under your skin, charms and haunts you. But the singing is a bit more edgy now, the guitars a bit more disturbing, the lyrics, compositions and arrangements more experimental. The Indie influences have gotten stronger; well used electronic elements keep breaking up the acoustic sound. And: You can hear the band. With a handful of excellent Berlin based musicians who partly accompany her also during live shows, Julia A. Noack has, in the studio of her new label Timezone, recorded an album that outgrows the classic Singer/Songwriter image. 69.9 is rich in ideas, sparkling and progressive – and has still not lost any of the soul, depth and warmth of the debut album.
To promote the release, Julia A. Noack will be playing live shows throughout the year in Germany and abroad.
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