Following Julianna Joy‘s recent striking single ‘The Year I Lived As You’, the Chicago-raised, Los Angeles based artist returns with another alt-pop banger ‘Better’. Fusing vocoder-filtered vocals, overdriven guitars and confident bass licks, this track once again demonstrates the power of this songwriter’s genre-blending pop ethos.
Originally written during her senior year of high school, ‘Better’ has evolved over the years from those unsure beginnings into a mighty storm of introspective and atmospheric darkness tinged with sci-fi mysticism. With shades of Billie Eilish and PVRIS, this track walks the line between raw emotionality and determined control.
Cutting through the gritty texture is the artist’s distinctive voice, equal parts honeyed sweetness and inflexible steel. This multi-faceted approach allows Joy to navigate an outlook of messy yet beautiful contradictions with a refreshing self-awareness. ‘Better’ reaffirms that Julianna Joy is very much part of pop’s next wave; one that promises to be as bold, personal and playful as ever.
You can listen to ‘Better’ in our Shades of Pop playlist.
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