CD Reviews

Julie Doiron

Woke Myself Up | Secretly Canadian

By CHRIS PARKER | April 17, 2007

3.0 Stars

Canadian singer-songwriter Julie Doiron embarks on a bracing departure from her usual tender, acoustic confessionals with spare accompaniment and an understated æsthetic. “The Wrong Guy” moves in a timid lope as she presses her lips against her lover’s — but then: “I open my eyes in horror . . . it was the wrong guy.” And the song closes with a scabrous guitar solo that’s emblematic of her broadening vocabulary. Her assurance is palpable in the bouncy folk pop of the opening title track, and whereas prior albums bogged down in too many similarly toned songs, Doiron here keeps the energy up, ranging from the gothic Americana of “Swan Pond” to the taut, harmony-rich alt-pop of “No More.” The rave-up “Don’t Wanna Be/Liked By You” twists and writhes like something off PJ Harvey’s Rid of Me. Woke Myself Up is smart, arresting, and nimble; at 30 minutes, the only real disappointment is that it’s over too soon.

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