Jeremy Zucker, Julia | Track Review 🎵

Rising pop singer/songwriter Jeremy Zucker delivers his best single of 2020 with “Julia,” where he reminisces on a now defunct relationship.

Jeremy Zucker has been on a tear in 2020 – understatement. The rising pop singer has released three singles at the turn of a new decade.  The first of the bunch was  “Always, I’ll Care”, released in early February. The second, “not ur friend”, arrived at the tail-end of February.  Now, he tops both of those gems with the best advance single from his debut album, “julia.” Just for clarification, this “Julia” is not the same “Julia” that appears on Lauv’s debut album, ~how I’m feeling~; two completely different songs, though both deal with matters of the heart.

First and foremost, “Julia” is very much a Jeremy Zucker song.  What does that mean, ultimately? Co-written with Danny Rakow, “Julia” is a record that’s never overblown or overwrought regarding the production, sound, or even the vocal performance; it never gets too high. That isn’t to say “Julia” is safe, stoic, or underwhelming – it’s not. There’s just this great sense of balance and space; breathing room.  This is something that Zucker has managed to do well up to this point. The balance of “Julia” is further affirmed by its near four-and-a-half-minute runtime as Zucker makes great use of space, balancing cooler and warmer moments.

“You saw me sing last week / I was hopin’ you might ask / ‘Is this one about me?’ / but how could you just say nothin’ at all?” Thematically, as aforementioned, matters of the heart drive “Julia.” Jeremy Zucker recalls a relationship, with Julia that’s no more (whether that’s actually her name is unimportant). “Julia, I’m through with ya,” he sings on the chorus, adding, “Thought we’d never see the sun fade / Now we’ll never see that shit shinin’ / Did we use to fear the dark days / ‘Cause now I’m dancin’ in the moonlight…” Poetic, expressive, and emotional to say the least.  Though I mentioned the balance, it should be noted that Zucker does rise to the occasion vocally when the oomph feels right. Similarly, the music does the same.

Final Thoughts 

“Julia” is another winner from Jeremy Zucker.  The personal nature of this record is quite relatable, and again, the name of the ex-lover is unimportant. Still, Julia has quite a nice ring to it. Again, it’s successful thanks to the sound Zucker executes capably, as well as the ‘everybody can relate to this’ theme.

Jeremy Zucker • “Julia” • Republic • Release: 3.24.20

Photo Credit: Republic