Giulia MC - "Still"
Words by Miles Ginoza.
Still as in at rest. Still as in at peace. Still as in welcoming slowness like an old friend with open arms. Berkeley-based Giulia MC’s debut album, Still, is an exploration of the tenderness, introspection, and beauty found in this slowness. It seems appropriate, then, that her album was released this past weekend on October 24th with the coming of fall. As chill winds and overcast weather approach, as the sun starts to set earlier, we begin to slow down. Fall is a time of transition. The exuberant joy of summertime fades away as the temperature drops and a more subdued melancholy sets in.
Still is the perfect album to guide us through this transition. Sitting at the crossroads between folk and indie rock, between a sound old, like Cat Stevens, and new, like Adrianne Lenker, the album moves at a slow and measured pace that creates space for reflection. It is through this slowness that Giulia is able to process feelings of sadness and anxiety, of loss and longing. She shows us that sitting still with these heavy emotions, rather than running away from them, is what allows us to move through them, heal, and grow.
The album feels expansive in the same way that a sunset in fall seems to stretch on and on. There is a specific dreamy glow that twilight has in the fall, crisp in its coolness and beautiful in its clarity. “Steel Trap” brings us into this scene. With warm acoustic guitar, reverberant piano accents, and gentle percussion, Giulia’s beautiful voice flows, growing and then softening, as she sings of her hesitations to be open and vulnerable with another. “Every Woman” captures that golden fall glow, sonically sparse with only a fingerpicked electric guitar line accompanying Giulia as she sings about a friend in a struggling relationship. “Paihia” is a nostalgic ode to her grandmother and New Zealand. It is beautiful in its simplicity. Her acoustic guitar strumming is unhurried as she fondly recalls, “I felt safe in the sea / With its green arms holding me.”
“Roots Are Long” is the standout track of the album. Poet Hanne Williams-Baron provides the beautifully poignant lyrics and Giulia delivers a stunning, emotional performance. The song begins quietly with a beautiful, meandering guitar line and Giulia’s smooth voice. As she reflects on quarantine in California, the song builds and builds, almost becoming too much, almost breaking your heart, but softening just in time. “Still” brings with it the sense of closure one feels when the sun has finally set. On choosing to end the album with this song, she reflects, “The word refers to the sentiment of continuation; we are still here, still existing, coping, making do. If there were a take away from this album, I'd want it to be that. I have felt immense loss this year (as have we all), but the things that are most important to me have continued to be. Everything's still here.”
You can purchase Still on Bandcamp. The album is also available to stream on Spotify. And you can keep up with Giulia MC by following her Instagram.
