Echoes in My Head
Artist: Julie Gribble 
Label: Independent
Length: 10/34:17

Julie Gribble is one of those singer/songwriter types that will convince you she's bound for stardom if given the right breaks.  She takes an old school approach to her folk rock stylings: 10 songs per album, all between three to four minutes, and storytelling telling that conveys much more depth than the short amount of time in which they are told.

Vocally, she falls between Mindy Smith, the Indigo Girls, Aimee Mann, and Natalie Merchant.  The Merchant influence is especially notable on tracks such as "Kingston Love," "Finally," and "Maybe I."  "Echoes in My Head" is a wistful tune of lost love, and has more of a country vibe to it, as do "Damn Me" and "Just Jane."

"Such a Shame" is more upbeat, while "More" is a return to a comfortable form.  Gribble's skills are in stirring emotion, creating a subtext of enjoying a warm coffeehouse, smiling as you realize you've found the next great singer before the rest of the world realizes it.

Brian A. Smith
23 April 2008