By Bryon Harris | Observer Contributor
Julie Cira hails from the Happy Valley of Northampton, MA. She describes herself as alt-country/Americana, sometimes lo-fi indie rock, a femme-fatale, punk at heart. Cira is relatively new to the Western Mass music scene and has made a notable entry with her self-titled three song EP. All three songs on the EP display solid, engaging song-writing delivered by Cira’s warm and intimate vocals. It is clear that Cira has passion and heart. Her music is soulful.
Cira wrote “Time” shortly after moving to Massachusetts. She had gone through a significant break-up and a handful of other hardships. Far away from her hometown of Baltimore, she embraced a new found solitude and within this space, she found the voice we hear on the EP – an inward reflection that connects outward to her listeners. Cira’s song “Time” is a twist on the saying that time heals everything. Cira seems to be saying that ultimately it is the people in our lives and the experiences we go through that fundamentally change us and it is change that heals, more than time.
In her song “Time”, Cira taps into her inner 90’s rock goddess. She draws her influences from a conglomerate of different artists and genres, from alt-country to 90’s female rock idols like Stevie Nicks and PJ Harvey. Like her influences, Cira’s style is laid-back, raw, and natural. Her voice is never over-produced; her sound is authentic.
From the second Cira’s voice comes in, you can hear the raw emotion fueling it. She knows how to write a hook that resonates long after you’ve heard it. As the song progresses, it is easy to feel her journey and before you know it you are reminiscing about past loves as you immerse yourself deeper into the rocking drums and tasteful guitar riffs, while singing along, “Oh what they say about time healing your wounds, easing your mind”. As I was listening to Cira’s songs I realized that even though she was tackling an emotional subject, her music was uplifting and empowering; ultimately this is what Cira offers her listeners—songs with depth and emotion that take you into that reflective zone and lift you up at the same time.
Cira has her song “Time” and other songs off of her EP available on
https://juliecira.bandcamp.com/, Apple Music, and Spotify.
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