EP REVIEW: JULIA WALLACE - PLACE IN MIND
The release of Julia Wallace’s debut EP is as arresting as it is subtly powerful. The EP speaks through, and to, the mental loops humans can exist in. These loops are displayed lyrically through each track, like Wallace’s mind is in conversation with itself. The vocals are introspective and raw, giving space to the young artist’s multi-instrumental capabilities. It is an album to be absorbed and re-visited.
The title track ‘Place in Mind’ begins with solo piano, the vocals dreamlike and private. Of the track, Wallace said “I was going around lacking direction and wanting validation from everyone around me and through writing this song I realised I needed to just forgive myself for letting people down and move on.” The track reaches its crescendo with the introduction of drums, giving a sense of awakening or epiphany, that she could indeed be forgiven. According to Wallace, ”the track is a short poem that repeats through subtle reharmonisation around the home key”, with the piano remerging at the tracks close to give the sense of a full circle.
The second track is ‘Warm Lights’, her debut single released in November 2020. It initially revolves around 2 chords, with transfixing vocals. Of the lyrics, Wallace said “every couple of lines is written about someone I was thinking about at the time.” Her mind seems to again be in conversation with itself, drifting from the warm light of her piano room to the cool light of the rest of her family home in Western Australia. The genius of Wallace lies in her ability to draw you inside her head with her. The instrumental complexity of eight textured piano pieces layered together keeps the tracking soaring upwards, until it meets a sudden end. The song is one of overthinking, joining the loop in the previous track.
The initial sense of the third track, ‘Song About Lying’, seems to be a gentle lamentation. Not one the listener is an active participant in, but one which is deeply personal, the self at odds with the self. The ethereal quality of the track is assisted by a trumpet, and drippy piano tones.
The final track ‘You’ll Love Her Again’ gives a clear change of tone, as if a fog has been lifted. Wallace’s vocals emerge strongly, her range more clearly displayed. The track poses questions, giving the impression we as listeners are still existing in her internal loop, however there is more direction than previously conveyed. The combination of piano, drum, trumpet, and layered vocals differentiates this track from the others, giving it a strong presence in its own right. Wallace asks the question at the close ‘Will I ever be in love again?’ seemingly to the void, rather than as a part of an internal dialogue.
Closing out the EP with a vocally clear and salient question gives a strong close to Julia Wallace’s debut EP, drawing in the elements of directionless, mental loops and guilt, and what it is like to swim around in your own head.