Julia Logue looks toward the horizon on her new album, Welcome To Your Sunrise
In the days just after the winter solstice, the days which sink back into darkness seemingly before they’ve even begun, Julia Logue is looking toward the horizon. The Portland-based singer’s debut album, Welcome To Your Sunrise, comes to us in these dark days of winter as a ray of affirmation, a promise that we will once again see the sun.
The album begins with the glow of a rhodes on “Roam,” establishing the mood that will carry the energy throughout the project, and growing into one of Logues most expansive compositions to date, and setting the tone for the rest of the album’s 33 minute runtime. Second up is “Here We Are,” which was released as a single back in 2021, but feels right at home in the tracklist, refocusing the soaring energy of “Roam” into a more intimate space, and demonstrating Logue’s range and ability to navigate the changing dynamics from song to song. Also present is “Fort,” placed halfway through the tracklist and showing Logue at her most inward, leading into the ethereal bossa groove of “Back Of The Party,” the stark statement of “Save Me For Later,” and the final build of “Energy” into the titular “Welcome To Your Sunrise,” a closing sequence that contextualizes the singles and underscores a deeply intentional approach to constructing an album, rather than just a collection of songs.
The production strikes an impressive balance, letting the live instrumentation shine but also employing clever filters, breaks, and effects, which always work to channel the energy of Logue’s vocal deliveries. The mix feels close and intimate in places (“Back Of The Party,”) and expansive in others (“Energy,” “Roam,” and “Welcome To Your Sunrise”), showcasing a range of both technique and emotion.
Thematically, the album reads as an exploration of affirmations, with Logue alternating between self-doubt and confidence in a way that rings truer than simple positivity, though it’s clear that Welcome To Your Sunrise wants to end on that elusive bright side. Still, it’s a process, and Logue takes care to represent that process of being and of becoming.
“Don’t let them look you in your eye they don’t understand, understand/Welcome to your sunrise, welcome to your life, won’t go to plan,” she sings on the album’s titular final song, acknowledging the beautifully unsettling possibility of uncertainty. The sunrise is the return of light and hope to darkness, and also marks yet another day of work towards whatever elusive goals we’ve set for ourselves, and which always remain there, just beyond the horizon.
Julia Logue plays Mississippi Studios on December 30th, 2023 in support of Welcome To Your Sunrise. Get tickets here.
