Goodnight Nobody finds an unguarded Julie Doiron, efficiently but undeliberately creating her first masterpiece in a few days time at three different locations. This is similar to how Bob Dylan approached the making of his classic 60’s output, ploughing through a studio in two to three days with a gangly crew of studio musicians. The result of such an approach is a collection of songs that all are “allowed” to speak for themselves. Their instinctive “rawness” remains intact, not cooked out by incessant knob twiddling or second-guessing. With the help of friends like Herman Dune (who also perform as her European touring band) and ex-Eric’s Trip collaborator Rick White, she has taken the textures of her first widely released full-length Loneliest in the Morning and mixed them with the crystalline vocal performance of her most recent full-length Heart and Crime. Goodnight Nobody is the end product, the best of both worlds, downcast and moody pop tunes right from the heart, aimed straight at the heart. For songwriters, there is a fine line between being unabashed and being unguarded. The first state intimates an awareness, that one knows how they are being perceived and consciously decides to ignore, for better or for worse, any external criticism. The other more favorable state suggests that the songwriter is not conscious (or barely conscious) of how people out there take their work, i.e. the songwriter as inert artist, creating for the sake of creating, not for the sake of expressing themselves to others or garnering attention. Though it is indeed a fine distinction, Julie Doiron is clearly in the latter camp. And even though she is described frequently in the press as an “indie-diva” or “chanteuse” of the highest power, Julie Doiron fits these well-intentioned approbations only in that she is a woman singer comfortable in her own skin. Under-reported are her signature guitar-stylings and her singular mastery of conveying mood and sentiment in song. Julie Doiron began her career in music in 1990 at the age of 18 in Moncton, New Brunswick Canada playing bass in Eric’s Trip, a folky yet psychedelic band that was to become the undisputed underground darling of Canadian Music. Eric’s Trip were the first of many maritime Canadians signed to Sub Pop and found international recognition releasing several albums and touring widely. Following 1996’s Purple Blue, Eric’s Trip announced their breakup and Julie Doiron embarked on her solo career, first releasing songs as “Broken Girl” but then under her own name. Since then she has worked with a veritable Who’s Who list of independent rock giants, including Dave Shouse (Grifters), Howe Gelb (Giant Sand) and Tragically Hip frontman Gord Downie, to name a few. “Fellow Canadian songwriter Leonard Cohen once titled an album Songs from a Room. Montreal-based Julie Doiron apparently took up residence there and removed whatever furniture was left behind.” – Rob O’Connor, Rolling Stone
