Julie's Haircut
Fever In The Funk House

Julie's haircut is an Italian band from the province of Modena, which has long been standing out for its original and enjoyable musical offering, with live performances that are both captivating and reminiscent of another era.

This CD is their first official full-length work and dates back to 1999. It is a very interesting mix that condenses the band's clear influences while personalizing them with new expressive needs right from the start. It's impossible not to notice the references to alternative groups like 'Sonic Youth' or 'Mogwai', with a sound that mixes the noise experimentation of the 90s with an attitude between seventies rock n' roll and the most irreverent punk.

These, in summary, are the features that emerge from the 13 tracks of the album, which I will now present in more detail. The opening is entrusted to a triad of songs of a similar matrix (between rock n' roll and punk), each more exciting than the last, namely "black t-shirt", "nuclear core blues" and "too much love": thick and very raw guitar distortion, singing (in my opinion, one of the strengths of the CD) "arrogant" and at the edge of being out of tune, sometimes filtered by distortion effects, but nonetheless captivating and almost mocking at times.
Then comes "Chip and fish brain", a simply brilliant nursery rhyme, introduced by a single guitar chord repeated in a loop, which constitutes a strong critique of the standardization of tastes and behaviors of today's society. The subsequent "Everyone needs someone to fuck" (which became a single from the album) continues the discourse started with the first three songs, with a fun lyric and an even more punk-like melody.

The following "Love is made for two" and "My house is on fire" are much more introspective and extended in structure: here the sound is close to bands like 'Sonic Youth'. "Silence/silence", a punk ride with a noise sound. "High school confidential" where the guitar interweaving can once again be appreciated, with the use of effects and an anti-technical approach. "Strange-strange girl", a whispered ballad perhaps dragged on a bit too long, and then "Safe as", a mid-tempo with eloquent pauses and filtered voice contribute to making the CD's musical offering even more varied.
The penultimate track "punk rock looser '99" is the most driven in terms of rhythm, a furious one minute and 43 seconds, perhaps a bit too cacophonous (but it's intentional). The closing is entrusted to a sad ballad "virtual valerie", with clean guitars affected by phaser and well-suited vocal lines characterized by an "innocent" expressiveness, almost adolescent.

This is a record that certainly doesn't surprise with individual performances, but for the final result, of great personality, which hints at a very interesting artistic future for the band (which is still materializing). A certain maturity in arrangements and in sound care is still lacking, defects that perhaps weigh on the repeated listening of the album.