Pigeon Opinion Featuring an Interview with Sometimes Julie

With some of her most personal and revealing lyrics to date, Transition displays Sorenson’s strong desire to connect with the listener through the exploration of universal concepts such as love, loss, and the struggle for authenticity. In pursuit of that connection, she is unafraid to wear her heart on her sleeve.

Interview with Sometimes Julie

You’ve described Transition as more intimate and reflective than your previous releases. What prompted that shift at this point in your journey?

Each of the songs included in our EP Transition is a love letter. With the exception of the title track, the lyrics and melodies were meditations for me; things I wanted to say to people I love. I played them to myself for a long time before ever recording them for others to hear.

When the inspiration for the title track came along, that song came together so quickly it was almost magical. It also let me know it was time to do more with the other songs sitting there in my notebook. Luckily, my wonderful bandmates and producers were able to collaborate and help me send these songs on their way. We all very much wanted the music to make a deep connection with the listener. I hope we succeeded.

After nearly a decade of releasing music together, how has your creative relationship evolved since your debut Head First in 2014?

Rick and I have been creating and performing music together since 2012. Our styles have always complemented each other, with me providing the initial stories, moods, and melodies and Rick sculpting the instrumentation, creating arrangements, and providing focus and direction to bring it all home.

The process actually went a little bit differently with Transition, though. Transition was originally conceived as a potential solo project for me - just me and my piano. But when I started laying down tracks for the songs, I realized that I didn’t want to go it alone. I am a collaborator by nature and was missing Rick’s input and perspective. So I asked Rick to step in and help develop arrangements that would turn it into a Sometimes Julie project.

Monica, these are said to be some of your most personal and revealing lyrics yet. Was there anything challenging or liberating about opening up in this way?

As I mentioned, the lyrics and stories in these songs are personally very meaningful to me. I suppose, too, that there is some risk in sharing and revealing things like a deep heartache and some impossible wishes. But when I hear the songs in their final state, I find joy and clarity about the moments and feelings they reflect. I hope that by revealing parts of my life for others, they will be able to relate, gain some sense of understanding, and, maybe, find some relief.

Rick, your background as a multi-instrumentalist and former lead guitarist clearly shapes the band’s sound. How did your role change on Transition compared to earlier albums?

Excellent question. Although I am a multi-instrumentalist, I am first and foremost a guitarist. This fact has very much defined the sound on our previous five albums. On Transition, though, guitar is present but very much takes a backseat to Monica’s piano, which drove me to broaden the way I think about composition.

I have dabbled in strings arrangements before, on “Own Kind of Savior” from the Where Are You? album, for example, but on Transition nearly every song has strings – or at least synth strings. So, in addition to my usual guitar, my role on Transition was to develop the texture, depth, and countermelody that strings provide. I had so much fun stretching outside my comfort zone.

Even though this EP leans into the indie singer songwriter space, you still carry strong rock, pop, and country influences. How conscious were you of holding onto those roots?

I never set out to write a song in a specific genre. I have always believed that it’s ultimately the song itself that reveals what it wants to be. Most of the songs on Transition were written during the same time period as the songs on our previous release, Seven Wishes, but it became clear to me that the two collections of songs needed their own space. They were two entirely different vibes, so we performed, recorded, produced, and released them separately.

Because Rick and I each grew up listening to a lot of different kinds of music, including rock, blues, country, pop, and even jazz and classical, the music that comes out of us displays a similar variety. We continue to write music that is true to our rock, pop and country roots, as well as songs that are in the same indie singer-songwriter space as Transition.

We are excited to say that we have plans for two more albums over the next two years. I am always writing, writing, playing, and writing. So we will have another rocking and uplifting collection coming out next, followed by a bluesy, moving, romantic, heartbreaking sort of album after that. I can’t wait to see how the songs take flight in our collaboration with others. Looking forward to playing and feeling the joy that comes with making music!

The title Transition suggests movement or change. What does that word mean to you both personally and musically right now?

The album’s title track can be interpreted as an encouragement to live as your authentic self, regardless of what society expects of you. It’s about having the courage to be who and what you are. The courage to not hide.

And that is what Transition means to me both personally and musically. It’s about having the strength to be vulnerable. It’s about stripping away all of the comfortable layers I may have used to obscure my true self and letting the world in to see and relate to the real me. And, importantly, to try to care a little less about how I might be judged by others in the process. If revealing more of myself can help me connect with the listener and share a feeling with them that they may have also been feeling, and let them know that they are not alone, the opportunity to offer them that relief is worth the risk.

We are all constantly learning and growing, transitioning to who we are and, hopefully, to who we want to be. Maybe these songs might inspire kindness to ourselves and acceptance of others as we all fight through that process - to celebrate rather than judge our differences. Let’s all hope.

(•)> That's all, Folks! Check out Sometimes Julie on the Pigeon Opinion Playlist