Just Julia [Live]

BY SARAH JOY
WEDNESDAY, 19TH FEBRUARY 2014

The Finsbury is an unlikely hotbed for new music nestled amongst the warehouses and Turkish shops on London’s longest road, Green Lanes, but with the help of the good people at Musicborn network it really is coming into its own.

Curiosity peaked; it was Just Julia that sealed the deal. A brand new all female folk duo consisting of local ladies Talicza Stevens and Zoe Saubat, who peddle a whimsical Gregory and the Hawk-esque haze of folk goodness.

Supported by the likes of singer-songwriters Will Roberts and Pete Hickman, the night was a thoroughly acoustic affair with plenty of sweet harmonies and soul-searching lyrics throughout.

Just Julia’s set marked the band’s inaugural performance as a guitar and cello duo, something you wouldn’t have guessed without the band’s declaration. Although just taking the plunge under this guise, they are almost veterans to the venue circuit with front women Stevens being recognisable from previous folk moniker Aphrodite and the Alphabet.

Now running things herself and bringing on talented cellist Saubut, things feel ready for greatness as the band prepare to support Emmy the Great at her sold out Jazz Café Fly Awards show on 19th February. Commanding an attentive silence throughout the pub's back room, the pair succeeds in marring resonating vocals with eerily beautiful string hooks creating something soft but at the same time deadly.

Lyrically, the band steers towards the darker side of the coin, spinning pensive bars regarding unrequited love and multitudes of melancholy as Stevens hits each note directly on the head.

With track ‘Wandering’ it is clear again that the band are not as sweet as they seem from the outside with Stevens singing the reproachful warning “take your wandering hands off my face, one minute I’m with you and the next I’m all over the place.”

Track ‘Ships’ finally brought the crowd out of an awed silence with the catcall of “That was awesome!” ringing from one heckler and as the night drew to an end with song ‘Last Dance’, its clear that this is just the start of big things for Just Julia.

https://www.facebook.com/justjuliamusic