Julian Hatfield
“In Exile Deo”
Zoe/Rounder Records
Massachusetts native Juliana Hatfield has been a staple of the Boston indie-rock scene since she fronted the Blake Babies in the late ’80s and early ’90s.
After a handful of releases with the Blake Babies, Hatfield tried her hand at solo work, scoring hits throughout the years with songs like “My Sister,” “Spin the Bottle” and “Universal Heart-beat.”
She has also collaborated with a number of artists including The Lemonheads, Mary Lou Lord and, more recently, the group Some Girls (which Hatfield fronted), which released an album last year.
Still, fans of Hatfield’s solo work have had to wait four years for something new.
Well, fans need wait no longer with the release of Hatfield’s seventh full-length album, “In Exile Deo,” on Zoe Records.
Hatfield opens the album with the fast-paced rocker, “Get in Line,” and immediately proves she hasn’t lost a step. The album’s lyrics deal with everything from lost love to past regrets and usually play out like cautionary tales.
As for her trademark sound, Hatfield seems to have shed some of the distortion that had washed over most of her earlier work, embracing a more pop-friendly sheen this time around. In fact, when listening to “Exile,” there seems to be similarities between Hatfield’s latest direction and that of Liz Phair. Both were darlings of the indie-rock scene (granted, Phair more so probably than Hatfield), but decided to incorporate a “pop” sensibility to their latest releases. The 13 songs on the album were written and produced by Hatfield herself, except for “Jamie’s in Town” and “Sunshine,” which were co-produced by David Leonard (who has worked with the likes of Avril Lavigne, John Mellencamp and Shawn Colvin).
It’s apparent Hatfield can still rock out during songs like “Dirty Dog” and “Sunshine,” but the disc also showcases a softer side on melodic tracks like “Tomorrow Never Comes” and “Some Rainy Sunday.” In short, there’s something here for everyone.
The music scene has changed drastically over the past decade, yet Hatfield has maintained her course and her music is as strong as ever. As she points out on her Web site, “In the past ten years, trends have come and gone, money has been made and spent, what went up came down, and I have continued to do what I love, which is making music.”
As “In Exile Deo” shows, Hatfield still has the gift to craft a great album and will probably do so far into the future.
“I will continue to write, record, and perform my songs as long as I can and as long as it feels right. I am still motivated by the same things I was in the beginning. The goal has always been to just be myself.”
