Julie Feeney — Clocks (2012)

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                  Julie Feeney — Clocks
• “Clocks is a fitting title.” — Lisa McInerney
• “Theatrical on the shell, intricate at the core, Ms Feeney's songs don't shout, they tease, ponder, reminisce, philosophise and invent parables.” — Emma Barlow
• Composer, singer, song-writer, record producer, musician, theatre artist, orchestrator and educator.

• “…It’s Feeney’s stately pomp and charged intimacy that sums up Clocks best: both warm and weird, but incontestably individual…” — Irish Times
• “‘Clocks’ is an outstanding album from an Irish musical gem. This album is a masterpiece in Irish standards, by any standards in fact, and begs the question why other artists don’t push the boundaries and explore new musically territories so superbly as this. ‘Clocks’ proves that Julie Feeney is about as close as you can ever come to fully embodying a musical artisan.” — ROS MADIGAN, GoldenPLec
Location: Galway, Ireland
Album release: November 27, 2012
Record Label: Mittens
Duration:     38:59
Tracks:
01. Dear John      (2:52)
02. Cold Water      (3:24)
03. Julia      (4:10)
04. Just A Few Hours      (3:49)
05. Galway Boy      (4:02)
06. If I Lose You Tonight      (4:05)
07. Moment      (4:14)
08. Every Inch A Woman      (2:49)
09. Worry      (3:02)
10. Happy Ever After      (3:06)
11. Imperfect Love      (3:27)
CREDITS:
• A string trio included, Louis Roden of the Irish Chamber Orchestra and Mary Barnacutt, recently heard in Cork as part of Set the First at the Triskel. New Yorker Joseph Brent on mandolin, violin and guitar was pivotal. I loved the lushness of the two violin cello blend in the song Grace Fergal Murray was on piano and Eugene Ginty added subtle understated backing vocals and occasionaly a recorder (ot two) line to the blend.
Website: http://www.juliefeeney.com/
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/juliefeeney
Reverbnation: http://www.reverbnation.com/juliefeeney
Twitter: https://twitter.com/julie_feeney
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JulieFeeneyIreland
Soundmaven: http://soundmaven.com/Julie+Feeney/
REVIEWS:
• By Emma Barlow | Score: ***** |
•• http://www.femalefirst.co.uk/music/reviews/album/music-314739.html
• By Sam Shepherd | 9 August 2013 | Score: **** | •• http://www.musicomh.com/reviews/albums/julie-feeney-clocks
• BY ROS MADIGAN | ON FEBRUARY 10, 2013 AT 4:59 PM |
•• http://www.goldenplec.com/julie-feeney-clocks-review/
• By NIAMH COLLINS on Nov 25, 2012 • 12:08 pm |
•• http://wearenoise.com/index.php/2012/11/julie-feeney-clocks-mittens/
• By Colm O Hare, 28 Nov 2012 | Score: 4/5 |
•• http://www.hotpress.com/ l
• By Lisa McInerney l Posted November 16, 2012 l
•• http://ramp.ie/index.php/Album-detail/album-review-clocks-julie-feeney/
• By Cathy Desmond at 6:13 PM
•• http://cathydesmond.blogspot.cz/2012/12/julie-feeney-clocks-in-at-white-horse.html
• Julie Feeney live at The Whitehorse Inn | Excellent intimate concert from Julie Feeney |
•• https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151319334811011.516463.325817641010&type=3&l=8adcdb9834
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FULL REVIEW:
• By Elaine Buckley | November 16th, 2012 |
•• Multi award-winning, critically acclaimed, singer/composer/producer/orchestrator/multi-instrumentalist Julie Feeney has never been one to pay heed to convention when it comes to crafting music. With roots of the classical variety teamed with a penchant for pop, she has established a reputation for herself as being one of the most uniquely original and adventurous of Irish artists — no easy feat considering the renowned eclecticism of the contemporary Irish music spectrum. Feeney cast aside her fringe-act status in 2005 with the release of debut offering 13 Songs, the album for which the Galwegian took home the inaugural Choice Music Prize. Four years later came the follow-up pages, which saw Feeney embrace her chamber-pop talents full-scale, delighting critics and fans alike, and earning another Choice Prize nomination in the process. With its charming singles pages took Feeney to a wider audience than its predecessor. •• She toured extensively, taking the time to make her mark on New York City in particular – sold-out residencies and performances at both the Irish Arts Centre and the Highline Ballroom bringing all the right attention her way. And now, the time has come for the release of her third studio album Clocks to delight and inspire all over again.
•• Clocks is themed by the value of personal roots, branching out into Feeney’s family tree to tell tales of generations past. In embracing this ancestry the eleven tracks were written between both Ballynahinch Castle and Lough Inagh in her native Galway, and recorded in the stunning setting of Kylemore Abbey in remote Connemara. The album opens with the ‘Dear John’, recounting the sweet story of Feeney’s grandparents embarking on moonlight cycles together, sprightly and uplifting with plucky harp and string arrangements, competing melodies and layered choral backing. ‘Julia’ too is homage to her grandparents, a beautiful stringed introduction leading into a tribute to Feeney’s late grandmother written poignantly from the perspective of her grandfather. Equally poignant is the slow air of ‘If I Lose You Tonight’, the most traditional-sounding track on the album, and also one of the most striking – Feeney’s voice gentle and soothing, almost lullaby-esque, complimented by minimal yet rich instrumentation, the final verse is particularly special.
•• ‘Cold Water’ is the lead single of Clocks, its arpeggio rhythm giving it a jovial feel in spite of the connotations of pride-diminishing heartbreak. •• ‘Moment’ too has great potential as a single – it’s by far the most contemporary-sounding track within, an emotive melody alongside yet again spot-on orchestration to heighten the narrative of the track. Given the quality that permeates this album, it’s tricky to earmark standouts – but the triumphant brass intro of ‘Worry’ builds towards something truly special, as Feeney scales the upper realm of her remarkable range; and the piano-led ‘Just A Few Hours’ too is momentous, Feeney’s impassioned yet delicate vocals complimented by stringed flourishes and subtle key shifts, with the booming percussion and falsetto choral backing in passages powerful.
•• Even given how high the bar that Julie Feeney set for herself with both of her previous releases is, Clocks surpasses expectations and then some. It’s riveting from the offset and captivates throughout, igniting both emotion and imagination, and dazzling with its musical complexity. •• You can almost hear how Feeney painstakingly pored over every single note struck and sung to realise her creative vision. Singer, composer, producer, orchestrator, multi-instrumentalist – but above all else, Feeney is an ambitious innovator with no concept of creative self-boundaries, and deserving of every iota of praise which will inevitably be sent her way in the wake of the release of Clocks. (http://www.state.ie/)
In french:
•• L'artiste Irlandaise sort son troisieme album. Comme les deux précédents, elle a tout fait du début a la fin. Un album sur le theme des relations et plus particulierement la famille. Un tres bel album.
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• As a whole, says Julie, the mood, feel, sound and creative sensibilities of Clocks hints at her rockier debut album rather than its chamber-pop follow-up. “It has a new direction for me. It’s much more vibey and far more assured. It’s fair to say that I’m going out on a limb a little bit, creatively.”
• Not that Julie is overly concerned about what people may say about that. “My job as an artist is to create something that is true, to grow and develop — and the music has to reflect that.”
• Onwards and upwards, then, while at the same time not necessarily providing what people might expect? “I could easily make another album like pages,” says Julie, quite reasonably, “but, really, what’s the point?” (excerpt from artist page: http://www.juliefeeney.com/about/)
• By Aedín Gormley | 24 NOVEMBER 2012 |
• There is no doubt about it, Julie Feeney is driven and she is motivated. The critically acclaimed singer-composer has just released her third album, Clocks, on her own record label and has begun a nationwide tour. Not just any tour, but an ambitious one that includes 10 different choirs over 10 nights in 10 different towns.
• She has just returned from New York, following a sold-out performance at the Highline Ballroom. Earlier this year, she completed a 10-show sellout residency in the Irish Arts Centre there. She also recently wrote and performed her first opera, Bird, as part of the Dublin Theatre Festival.
• Clocks is an interesting title for her new album. When I spoke to her last week, she was en route to make an accompanying video for one of the new tracks and I couldn't help but wonder where she finds the time.
• "If you are funding everything yourself under your own record label, it's like being a producer as well," she says. "You've got to play an awful lot of it by ear, but it helps if you are working with really good people who are up for experimenting and willing to go into something with the right spirit."
• Julie is lucky, though, that song-writing seems to come very naturally to her but peace and quiet are vital for the process.
• "I think it is really important to work from silence; a lot of things come to me that way and I always make sure that the melodies are coming out of my head and on to the page," she says.
• Personally, I have always loved Feeney's use of melody as the tune never goes where I expect it to go. Many songwriters work at the piano as they compose, but not Julie.
• "If you are using instruments, it can be limiting regarding how you play or how well you are able to play; I jot down melodies all the time and I spend a lot of time on the words."
• Clocks was written in Ballinahinch Castle and Lough Inagh Cottages in Galway and recorded at Kylemore Abbey Gothic Church, a return to home ground for Julie.
• "Ideas come really quickly to me but I do think your ideas are framed very much by your surroundings," she says.
• This album is particularly influenced by her extended family.
"I basically have some sort of emotion in my core before I make something and for this album I could feel a draw back to my family and my roots," she says. "I was simultaneously doing a family tree, which I felt compelled to do, and it all came together."
• The songs on this album are seen through the eyes of those family members she has researched. Dear John, for example, is about her grandfather and grandmother, and how they would wait for a moonlit night to go cycling on the road. Julia is about her grandmother, as if sung by her grandfather, who once said that he had nothing to sing about after his wife had passed on.
• As I leave Julie to make her next video, she sounds busy, but excited about her latest venture. "It has a new direction for me. It's much more vibey and far more assured." — (http://www.independent.ie/)
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Awards:
• Winner of the Choice Music Prize Irish Album of the Year in 2006 for her debut album 13 songs.
• Winner TOYP, 'The Outstanding Young Person Award for Cultural Achievement' by Junior Chamber International in 2008.
• Winner 'Irish Tatler Woman of the Year for Music and Entertainment' in 2006.
• Winner IMTV Award 'Best Styled Music Video' for "Impossibly Beautiful" music video 2009.
• Nominated for IMTV Award 'Best Irish Female' for "Love is a Tricky Thing" music video 2009.
• Nominated for 'Best Irish Female' at 2010 Meteor Ireland Music Awards.
• Nominated for Choice Music Prize Irish Album of the Year in 2009 for her second album pages.
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Related Artists:
• Gemma Hayes
• Martha Wainwright
• Gabby Young
• Lonely Drifter Karen
• Hannah Peel
• Codeine Velvet Club
Link: http://www.allmusic.com/artist/julie-feeney-mn0001977617
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