This New York-based singer-songwriter's debut album shows a complex lyrical sensibility backed up by a strong, soulful voice and pop smarts to spare. Though predominantly acoustic, there is a distinct soul/R&B tinge to the arrangements, accentuated by the presence of the legendary Uptown Horns and by the mid-'70s Al Greenisms of the existential love ballad "Move You."Julian's songs are energized by the powerhouse drumming of Mike Shapiro and the fluid acoustic bass lines of Dave Richards; they give a solid foundation to Julian's tales of love, hate and misunderstanding in post-Nixon America. Drawing on the dark poetic imagery of Leonard Cohen ("Bottom Of The Sea") and the graveyard humor of John Prine ("Sick Sick Love"), Julian reaches into the seamy world that lies just beneath the daytime TV talk-show mindset, revealing its underlying truths in all their horror and beauty.
