NYC-based singer-songwriter Julia Greenberg presents her new single 'Leaves', an uplifting track that feels remarkably hopeful despite being written amidst the quiet wreckage of personal loss. Mastering the art of letting go, she offers a poignant reminder that some seasons simply cannot be held captive. This is a hauntingly graceful prelude to her 'Born Sentimental' EP, slated for June release via New Jersey's Magic Door Record Label.
Directed by Julia Greenberg and edited by Nico Greenberg with Yumiko Takagi as director or photography, the accompanying video captures a small-town schoolhouse that is "frozen in time", this setting serving as a poignant monument to the people and milestones we’ve moved on from. The lens treats these relics as a visual meditation on the bittersweet friction between honoring our most precious, fleeting memories and finding the courage to keep walking toward the hope of an unmapped horizon.
'Leaves' sets the tone for the EP. Written over several years in the aftermath of a personal tragedy, the song is reminder that, try as we might, we can’t hang on to those autumn leaves. Referencing the incomparable and oft interpreted Kurt Weill song, Julia chastises herself: “There’s nothing dumber, than the girl who sings September Song in summer”, as she ruminates over her guitar in the shade while everyone else is at the lake.
Recorded live at Chrometop Studios, this music vibrates with the raw, lived-in chemistry of a quartet that has spent half a decade honing these stories while touring the Northeast, capturing their emotional and creative connections and vulnerabilities. It’s a deeply personal and gorgeous collision of alt-country grit and the sophisticated wit of American Standards, capturing a vulnerability that feels both timeless and bracingly honest. Co-produced by Bob Perry (The Winter Hours) and Julia Greenberg, this EP was engineered by Bob Perry and mastered by Ray Ketchem (Guided by Voices, Elk City, Gramercy Arms, Luna, Crash Harmony) at Magic Door Recording Studio in Montclair, NJ.
"These songs are unapologetically written and sung by a woman who has been around a while and has seen and lost a thing or two—and knows the power of the proximity of funny and mournful. The songs, and the kind of raw way I’m putting them out into the world, is a reaction to all the screens, and filters and bullshit projections of ourselves that rule us," says Julia Greenberg.
A chanteuse, theater composer and filmmaker with roots in the downtown NYC music scene, Julia Greenberg has released two albums of original music - 'Past Your Eyes'and 'Greenland' - both produced by James Mastro (The Bongos, Mott the Hoople, Ian Hunter, Patti Smith, John Cale). Her her music has been featured on 'This American Life' (including the ever-popular Dr. Phil episode, in which Phil Collins evaluates a breakup song she co-wrote), and Ronnie Spector also recorded one of her songs.
Greenberg's award-winning documentary 'Dory Previn: On My Way to Where' can now be watched on PBS, having had its world premiere at the SXSW Film & TV Festival in 2024. Prior to directing the film, Julia became the foremost interpreter of Previn’s music, performing her work around the country at venues such as Joe’s Pub, Mass MoCA, the 92nd Street Y, the Houston Museum of Fine Arts, and on WFMU and WNYC radio. She is also the archivist for Previn's estate.
Apart from co-writing the hit off-Broadway rock opera 'People Are Wrong!' with Robin Goldwasser, she composed the music for the off-Broadway play 'Cavedweller' with "Hedwig and the Angry Inch" composer Stephen Trask. In her spare time, she is a health justice advocate and co-curates the music program at the Rock Valley Schoolhouse in the Catskills.
"After years of interpreting other people’s songs and making a film about my musical idol, Dory Previn, this release feels like some kind of catharsis. It’s just me and my unadorned voice and musical companions of the last decade, doing what we do live, captured so beautifully by engineer and co-producer Bob Perry," says Julia Greenberg.
As of April 21, 'Leaves' is available across digital platforms, including Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon and Bandcamp, where it is currently available for download. On June 11, the 'Born Sentimental' EP will be released via Magic Door Record Label.
CREDITS
Music & lyrics for all songs written by Julia Greenberg
Jeremy Chatzky - upright bass
Will Holshouser - accordion
Tricia Scotti - backing vocals
Julia Greenberg - acoustic guitar
Bob Perry - electric guitar
Paul Moschella - drums
Stephanie Seymour - percussion
Recorded at Chrometop Studios
Co-produced by Bob Perry and Julia Greenberg
Engineered by Bob Perry
Mastered by Ray Ketchem at Magic Door Recording
Cover artwork by Jamil Azam
Artist photos by Yumiko Takagi
Released by Magic Door Record Label
Publicity by Shameless Promotion PR
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