Julia Michaels

“Nervous System”

(EP Review)

.

.

It’s Julia Michaels’ turn to shine and take the spotlight.

.

American singer/songwriter Julia Michaels has been behind the scenes the last few years writing songs for the world’s biggest artists. Co writing global hits such as Justin Bieber’s Sorry and Selena Gomez’s Good For You, this rising talent has the word superstar written all over her.

Releasing her first single Issues early this year, the track blasted onto the pop scene charting amongst the top ten worldwide. Throwing her songwriting abilities into her own music, this artist is definitely a future force to be reckoned with. Julia later released her second single Uh Huh in June, following the release of her first album EP Nervous System this week. After hearing her hit song Issues everywhere over the last few months, I thought it would be refreshing to listen to her first EP and get a larger taste of who Julia is as an artist. So I decided to listen to the EP and break it down for you all.

.

Nervous System EP – Tracklist

      1. Issues

      2. Uh Huh

      3. Worst In Me

      4. Make It Up to You

      5. Just Do It

      6. Pink

      7. Don’t Wanna Think

.

.

Listening to the first track Issues, I obviously knew what to expect because I’ve heard it many times before. However, I feel like the song and its meaning doesn’t get old. In this track, Julia talks about the complications she has with another person within their relationship. She emphasising the fact that they both have issues, however at the end of the day they can’t repeal from each other. The instrumental of the song is quite simple and suspenseful, which really brings across Julia’s vocals that are quite powerful and raw. She has almost like a Sia type voice, except a little more lower pitched. I absolutely love this song and I’m sure its success around the world has made many others feel the same.

In the next track Uh Huh, the artist uses a raspy guitar instrumental that creates a really unique vibe for the song. She sings about her extreme compatibility with another individual and how she believes it might be going a bit too fast. Her vocals change to a cheeky tone in the chorus, as she can’t deny how her body feels about this relationship. It’s the kind of fun and sassy pop song you can belt your lungs out too.

.

“Yeah, I got issues, and one of them is how bad I need you”

.

The third track Worst In Me is basically an Issues 2.0. The message she’s portraying as well as the lyrical structure are very similar to the first track. Julia sings about the individual success between two people in a relationship and how it damaging their partnership. She expresses the fact that the worst in her wants the relationship, but then the worst in her doesn’t. The instrumental however is a little more upbeat and moody compared to the first two tracks. All in all, I would definitely add this to my playlist.

The next track Make It Up To You wasn’t as captivating as the last three tracks. However, Julia changes the subject a little where she sings about purposely sabotaging a relationship, as she doesn’t feel stable enough for the person she’s singing about, later wanting to make it up to them. The instrumental was quite similar to the last three songs and I didn’t really vibe the beat within the chorus. Not my favourite track, but still a solid message.

.

.

The fifth track Just Do It sounded quite similar to the last track. The structure was completely the same and the way the build up was used in the instrumental to highlight the chorus was also the same. Julia sings about knowing the fact that her relationship is coming to and end and that she would rather her partner just rip the band-aid off and end things rather than letting her down gently. As the lyrics are quite repetitive, this song will definitely to get stuck in your head.

The next track Pink completely surprised me. I don’t think I’ve ever heard a song like it before. The lyrics are very tongue and cheek and Julia sings about both people in the relationship being quite passionate about their sex life. In the chorus, she whispers the lyrics and emphasises the fact that her partner loves the colour pink, which I’m pretty sure has a sexual meaning to it. The instrumental kind of reminded me of 90’s music, which was refreshing to hear a mix up in her EP.

.

“There’s no innuendos, it’s exactly what you think, believe me when I tell you he loves the colour pink”

.

The last track Don’t Wanna Think absolutely broke my heart. I listened to it with my eyes closed and I can literally feel all the pain and emotion in Julia’s voice as she struggles for words. Her vocals took me on her journey of heartbreak and how as much as she doesn’t want to think about her lover, she isn’t able to find a way to get over them. The simple piano in the instrumental just made her vocal capabilities shine. This is definitely my favourite song on the EP.

After listening to the EP, I was pleasantly surprised with Julia’s versatility in story telling and themes. As she is a new artist, you are easily exposed to all different sides of her life that now makes me feel like I have an understanding of her journey. I still can’t get over how beautiful Don’t Wanna Think is and the tracks rawness. I strongly recommend that if anyone is looking for something fresh and unexpected to listen to, definitely give this EP a chance.

.

Needing a few songs to get over heartbreak? Julia Michaels has got you covered.

.