Julie Doiron I Thought of You & Shows # 927, 926, 925, 924

Julie Doiron released I Thought Of You in November of 2021 on You’ve Changed Records. This is the first full-length solo record Doiron has put out since 2012’s So Many Days, but Julie has been busy between these years releasing EPs and collaborating. She has released critically albums with Julie & The Wrong Guys (featuring members of Cancer Bats and Eamon McGrath) and Mount Eerie. In addition to this Doiron has been reinterpreting and releasing her songs in Spanish for the Cante en Espanol series on the Acuarela label. With a stellar backing band featuring Daniel Romano (guitar/keys/percussion), Ian Romano (drums) and Dany Placard on bass, Doiron delivers an honest spontaneous and an in the moment sounding album. With her vocals as the centre point as the band captures different musical strands behind her, Doiron’s I Thought Of You also encapsulates her masterful songwriting abilities.

“You Gave Me The Key” opens I Thought of You. With its folk and country meets indie rock swagger, Doiron brings forth an honest intimacy. With lyrics “There was never a plan/Starting over again” and “And your words they made me believe/That there’s life all around me/And there’s life all within me/There’s no need to explain,” that relate to aspects of Doiron’s musical output, while it also features a combination of mixed emotions and themes of inspiration from the every day that uplift this opening track. The title track has been described as a psychedelic western track and features contemplative lyrics such as “It’s been so long/I haven’t had a lot to say,” and “But honestly/I felt ashamed,” that operate on several levels. It sounds as if Julie is speaking directly to the listener who has been neglected, but also it could operate as a reflection on a lost connection to a person from the past. The music and lyrics blend so seamlessly. The song seems to end too soon before “Dreamed I Was” begins. Starting off with slower watery sounding guitars, this track floats with vivid striking and ruminative lyrics. “Just When I Thought” dips into psychedelia with a surreal quality before it gets heavier and more distorted towards the song’s ending moments. “Et Mon Amour” drifts with a shuffling beat. The song’s title translates into “And To My Love” and is a track sung in French. This adds another storytelling through song element to I Thought of You as it delves into a bittersweet and nostalgia tale of young love.

“Good Reason” is a song that originates from Greville Tapes Vol.2 EP, as with “I Thought Of You,” “Ran,” and “Cancel The Party” these tracks were recorded earlier by Dorion with different projects and reworked here for this release. The country-folk of “Good Reason” is introspective about the emotional and physical distance of a relationship as well as the strain and complications that come with it. With this track the band seems to hang on Julie’s every word intensifying, speeding up and also pulling back at the right moments. “Cancel The Party” is a shorter, but heavier track. Seeming to dip back into Dorion’s 90s rock beginnings, it features abstract lyrics with words such as “It’s time to sleep now/My dream is calling me/Cancel the plans/Forget the party.” “Darkness To Light” features haunting pedal steel played by Michael Feuerstack. As Dorion grabs hold of the listener with her vocals, lyrics such as “I made it through the darkness/Was stuck there for a while/And I know that some of my friends are stuck in there right now” tackle existential themes. “Ran” comes in with a weary determinedness, as the band builds behind the vocals advocating for the exit from an ended relationship, but one that is a bit more complex than that.

“Letters We Sent” conjures up Neil Young & Crazy Horse vibes, as Doiron sings lyrics such as “And the letters we sent are covered in snow/Beneath are the fears that I might be better off alone/And everyone is telling me to stay,” and “Well, I wasn't looking/My heart wasn't open yet” that captivate with a poetic honesty. “Back To The Water” ends I Thought Of You. This track features just Doiron and an acoustic guitar as she sings a folk tale that addresses her place in the world. As she states in the lyrics “I don’t need to know the answers/I don’t need to be alone,” “I know that there’s a lesson/Here for me to learn/I’ve been here before,” which end I Thought Of You on a bit of an ambiguous, yet graceful note. Throughout this album, Julie Doiron sounds revitalized. I Thought of You shows an elegance, addressing the chaotic moments we can all go through, while at the same time it revels in a motion of healing and moving forward.

Show 927 (Originally Aired On March 26th, 2022) (Returners, No Fix, Cowboy Junkies, Al Oster):

1.  Returners - Get
2.  Returners - #1
3.  No Fix - Neon Dreamz
4.  Psychic Void - Gutter Butter
5.  Priests - Puff
6.  Fruit Tones - Igloo   
7.  Destroyer - Suffer
8.  Modest Mouse - Wooden Soldier
9.  The Darcys - Peg   
10. Cowboy Junkies - Five Years
11. Cowboy Junkies - 17 Seconds
12. Bill Callahan & Bonnie “Prince” Billy  - Deacon Blues   
13. Al Oster - Midnight Sun Rock (Alternate Recording)
14. Al Oster - Yukon Gold
15. Sam Coffey - Worried Mary
16. Willie Dunn - Crazy Horse
17. Hank Williams - There'll Be No Teardrops Tonight
18. Johnny Cash - Folsom Prison Blues (Live 1968 - Show 2)   
19. Sonic Youth - In/Out/In
20. Preoccupations - Off Duty Trip
21. Celia's Dream - You   
22. Sunglaciers - Avoidance
23. Public Image Limited - The Suit
24. Bush Tetras - Punch Drunk
25. Susans - Impress Your Neighbours
26. Swell Maps - The Helicopter Spies

To hear this program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and click the March 26 file to download/stream the episode.

Show 926 (Originally Aired On March 19th, 2022) (Apollo Ghosts, Guided By Voices, The Wipers, Parquet Courts):

1.  Apollo Ghosts - But I'll Be Around (Electric Version)
2.  OMBIIGIZI - The Once Child
3.  Motorists - Turn It Around
4.  Dummy - Fissured Ceramics
5.  Animal Collective - We Go Back   
6.  The Skaliwags - 365 Days A Year
7.  Melenas - Ciencia Ficcion
8.  The Mystic Tide - Why
9.  Alex Chilton - Every Day As We Grow Closer
10. Jay Reatard - Don’t Let Him Come Back
11. Weird Nightmare - Searching For You   
12. Superchunk - Endless Summer
13. Guided By Voices - Come North Together
14. Hot Garbage - Everything Stops
15. Liquid Liquid - Optimo
16. Seth A. Smith - Silver
17. John Doe Trio - Never Coming Back
18. Baby Giant - She's A Queen
19. The Wipers - What Is
20. The Revelons - 97 Tears
21. Rough Francis - Deathwire   
22. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Animal X   
23. Thus Owls - Balconies
24. Rent Boys Inc. - Pictish
25. New Vogue - Daylight Eraser
26. Kinetic Ideals - Life In Shadow
27. Viagra Boys - Blue Bone
28. Parquet Courts - Just Shadows
29. Parquet Courts - Sympathy For Life
30. Mick Futures - In Case We Learn

To hear this program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and click the March 19 file to download/stream the episode.

Show 925 (Originally Aired On March 12th, 2022) (International Women's Day Episode):

1.  Riff Randells - Parker Place
2.  Deerhoof - Hitch-Hike
3.  Big Thief - Certainty
4.  Beach House - ESP
5.  Faith Healer - 2nd Time   
6.  Mary Simich - Problems of Your Past
7.  Blonde Redhead - 10 Feet High   
8.  Blonde Redhead - This Is the Number of Times I Said I Will But Didn't (4 Track Demo)
9.  The Delmonas - I’ll Use Evil   
10. Betty Davis - Feelins
11. ESG - UFO
12. ESG - You Make No Sense
13. Tanya Tagaq - Birth
14. Basia Bulat - Your Girl   
15. Weird Lines - Malibu
16. Julie Doiron - Good Reason
17. Julie & Dany - Mayo
18. Julie Doiron & The Wooden Stars - Dance Music
19. Julie Doiron - Nice To Come Home   
20. Joni Mitchell - Night in the City (Live)
21. Nina Simone - Four Women   
22. Cate Le Bon - Harbour
23. Mitski - Should’ve Been Me   
24. NOBRO - Bye Bye Baby
25. Amyl and the Sniffers - Hertz
26. Visibly Choked - Mother Tongue
27. Delta 5 - Anticipation
28. Kleenex - Ain't You
29. Bush Tetras - You Can't Be Funky   
30. Au Pairs - Come Again

To hear this program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and click the March 12 file to download/stream the episode.

Show 924 (Originally Aired On March 5th, 2022)(Betty Davis, Syl Johnson, Mark Lanegan, Dallas Good/The Sadies):

1.  The Anomayls - Panik
2.  Jon Spencer & The HITmakers - Junk Man
3.  Ty Segall - Los Angeles News Service
4.  Betty Davis - If I'm In Luck I Might Get Picked Up
5.  Betty Davis - 70's Blues
6.  Betty Mabry - Get Ready For Betty
7.  Syl Johnson - Soul Drippin'
8.  Syl Johnson - Black Baloons
9.  Syl Johnson - Wind, Blow Her Back My Way
10. Screaming Trees - Sworn and Broken
11. Mark Lanegan - Mirrored
12. Mark Lanegan - Carnival
13. Mark Lanegan - Hanging On (For DRC)
14. The Armed Feat. Mark Lanegan - The Music Becomes A Skul
15. The Sadies - Cut Corners
16. The Sadies - As Much As Such
17. The Sadies - Friendly Devil
18. The Sadies - Anna Leigh
19. The Sadies - Questions Never Asked
20. The Sadies - Lay Down Your Arms
21. The Sadies - Within A Stone
22. The Sadies - Flash
23. Career Suicide - No Sleep
24. The Unintended - Beautiful Things
25. Andre Williams & The Sadies - Busted
26. John Doe & The Sadies - Detroit City   
27. Black Country, New Road - Concorde
28. Spoon - The Hardest Cut
29. Destroyer - Eat the Wine, Drink the Bread 

To hear this program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and click the March 5 file to download/stream the episode.