where to begin? i 'discovered' Julia on myspace, and bought the cd because i liked a couple of the songs on her profile. it came, i listened, and i was surprised - nay, astonished - by how much i liked it. "darwin's fall" opens proceedings beautifully, a song that just gets in your head and stay there. the rest of the album manages to live up to such an opener. on some tracks, she gets (as one of my friends put it) 'a little bit katie melua, a little bit nashville..' which is normally not to my tastes at all, but the strength of the songs shines through (the arrangements are all superb, even if they are a little on the country side of the spectrum). highlights for me (the creme de la creme) include: fragile - a beautiful piece, nick drake-like rippling guitars, stunning vocals (comparisons with bjork just dont do ms dawn justice) just a little - amazingly tight, fraught with tension, a groove to die for. if i hadnt scrapped my car id be driving around aimlessly listening to it, like one of the other reviewers. a song that struts like mick jagger, without making a fool of itself. the peak of cool. judges and burning bibles - julia shows off her songwriting skills, crafting a lyric so evocative you find it hard to believe shes not already internationally famous. and a lovely harmony from mr thomas delgado. champion smile - like the cranberries, but much much much better. no, that doesnt do it justice. too good for words. the rest of the album is similarly brilliant. 'all killer, no filler' springs to mind. in short, this is one of the best new albums ive heard in a loooooong time. ive not listened to an album so much in the week after buying it since regina spektor's soviet kitsch. buy it now. buy two (or more) copies, get the discount and give a copy to a friend as a present. if they like music theyll love this.

this album takes me to that solemn harmonious place i use to accomplish things while singing....like driving,sewing,cleaning,writing. I have listened to it more times than i am at liberty to disclose. (It is kind of embarassing) Her blatent sensuality mixed with a girl next door approach gives her lyrics that unique blend of passionate angst and cynical charm. The book of Good Intentions is humbly honest, un-deniably catchy and brilliantly designed. She uses pages from old journals to demonstrate the evolution of poetry to music which gives her that cozy coffeeshop feel. For any occassion Julia Dawn's music offers progressive motivation ,casual insight, and emotional stimulation. This is a stunningly beautiful recording. A must have! You wont be sorry you bought it.

The hand-bound cover filled with scanned journal pages and illustrations is only the beginning of the endless treat that the CD inside is. It hasn't left my car stereo since it arrived. I hit repeat on Just a Little about 15 times yesterday while aimlessly circling the wrong one-way streets in SF, and every accidental turn was an excuse to hear its grooving bass line and wispy throaty silk-growling vocals again and again.