Annie Fell, Talkhouse Music:

Juliana Hatfield is a musician and songwriter based in Western Mass; Will Dailey is a musician and songwriter based in the Boston area. Both put out new records recently — Juliana’s Lightning May Strike came out in December, and Will’s Boys Talking was released on streaming in February — and to celebrate it all, the friends got on the phone to catch up about the grief that inspired both records, and much more.

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Juliana: Those people are so important. They’re so rare. And that’s why Gary [Smith] was such a huge loss to me — well, for many reasons. He was one of the smartest people I knew. He was complicated, but I felt like he really appreciated my music in a way that maybe other people who even liked my music didn’t really get it on such a level. He just appreciated it in a way that felt so sincere without being cloying. It wasn’t over the top. He valued it and he treasured it in a really cool way, and it meant a lot to me because my music was so much of who I was.

Read the full chat between Juliana and Will at www.talkhouse.com/will-dailey-and-juliana-hatfield-are-their-music/

JPS, writing for Talkhouse on the legacy of Sunburn and “what it was like to be a “college rock” band on the verge in 1990”:

Happily, Freda, Juliana, and I have rekindled our friendship several times over, and we made what I personally consider our best album, God Bless the Blake Babies, in 2001. We’ve periodically done shows together and supported one another in all of our mostly successful post-band pursuits. It’s wild to think that was over 30 years ago. It’s even wilder to listen to the music with the knowledge of what indie music sounds like today, and realize it still sounds contemporary. With the exception of a few dated production touches, Sunburn could fit in with what we call Indie Pop today.

Juliana is interviewed by Chris Collingwood (of Fountains of Wayne) in an article at Talkhouse:

Chris: It seems like whatever you’re singing about, you have an inherent tunefulness. Even on Pussycat, where you’re singing about horrible things, it’s catchy and it draws you in with great melodies.

Juliana: I can’t help myself. I can’t change who I am. I’m more appreciating it now. I’ve been frustrated like anyone. You feel like you’re repeating yourself, and I have these habits, and I can’t break the habits but really it’s just who I am. My musical persona—I was born with it, I think. Sometimes it feels frustrating because I can’t really alter it, or if I did it would probably come across as inauthentic.

Chris: Is it ever the case that the narrator in your songs isn’t you?

Juliana: In most of my songs, when people assume I’m talking about myself, they’re usually right. I don’t really take on other personas. Generally, I don’t put myself in the mind of people that are not me. The new record is all me, totally. Everything on this record is very personal.

Juliana, writing for Talkhouse about an album she loved this year:

The Voidz’ Virtue is a really fun album about serious things. It’s swimming in disillusionment and the shame of being alive. It’s like the sound of original sin—oh, how we have fucked this all up. It’s not only our own failings and weaknesses that are disappointing, but also our society’s dishonesty and corruption, into which we are sometimes drawn. Julian Casablancas sings “I’ve been bathing in the blood of our success” on ”Aliennation.” Elsewhere: “I want out of this world” (“Pink Ocean”), “I lost what’s mine” (“Qyurryus”), “What does it matter?” (“Pointlessness”), and “No one will care about this in ten years” (“All Wordz Are Made Up”).

Read more of Juliana's words at:

https://www.talkhouse.com/best-of-2018-the-voidz-virtue-is-juliana-hatfields-favorite-album-of-the-year/