Julia Vorontsova, Over

Every day I get music in the mail and about half the time I have no idea who the main artist is. That is fun but also challenging, because it leaves me naked, so to speak, with the music and I must trust the winds of fate to bring me good things, though of course that can not always be the case. It surely was though when Russian singer-songwriter Julia Vorontsova and her album Over (Privet Records 01) came into my space.

Julia gives us 13 of her songs, sung in Russian with a straightforward delivery, many sounding very folkish in a Russian way, but with a pronounced folk-rock orientation. Julia plays folk-acoustic guitar that goes with the songs well and Zeke Zima plays some nice electric, or at least I presume that is the division of labor. She is backed by a full band and they sound good.

The liners give a run-down of the lyric contents and they show the feelings and thoughts of someone in an ever-changing world, looking for meaning from the experiences she has lived through. The melodies catch the ear. There is a dark quality to it, a melancholic cast that creates a definite mood.

It is something different for those who look to the world for new folk-rock emanations. Ms. Vorontsova has something going on that is good. You who seek something different will surely find it here. Recommended.