First Look: Julie Doiron – “I Can Wonder What You Did What You Did With Your Day”

I Can Wonder What You Did With Your Day is a Kimya Dawson record for adults. Over 12 songs, Julie Doiron sings earnestly, directly — wondering what a long-distance lover did with his day (“You probably played played guitar too / I’m sure because you always do,” she sings on the heartbreakingly sweet “Nice To Come Home”) or enjoying the simple pleasures (“In the morning we awake / you give me the biggest smile” on “Glad To Be Alive”). Like Dawson, her voice has a fragile, untrained quality that construes an undeniable authenticity — but then, of course, Doiron’s been a professional musician for nearly two decades, since co-founding Eric’s Trip in 1990. Thus, these songs — a mix of chunky garage riffs and perky folk — carry the optimism and happiness of a full life; the rewards of experience rather than the pleasures of childhood. That her long career hasn’t left her hardened and cynical — or, like Dawson, retreating from a world perhaps too big and bright — is admirable; that she can touch your heart as honestly as a best friend is a joy. [Ed. — “Consolation Prize,” below, is the single, but seek out “Lovers of the World” and “When Breaks Get Wet” for the album’s best moments.]

Julie Doiron – “Consolation Prize”: mp3

(I Can Wonder What You Did With Your Day is out now on Jagjaguwar)

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