Julie & The Wolf – The Devil Is The Man
Julie & The Wolf – The Devil Is The Man (2015)
Directed by: Yan Giroux
Julie and the Wolf have made their debut album, Ablaze, available for streaming leading up to its October 30 release viaAudiogram. The exclusive Spotify advance stream follows the Montreal duo’s recent video for “The Devil Is the Man,” premiered via The A.V. Club, who hailed the song as “evoking a sense of oppressive gloom.” Ghost Cult Magazine likewise described the song as “breathtaking”; the remainder of Ablaze continues the track’s woeful, heartbroken balladry.
Ablaze presents a somber, minimal examination of emotional devastation with contrasting luminous moments. It compacts 16 tracks into 43 minutes, showcasing vocalist Wolf Merzbacher’s robust yet emotive vocals atop pianist Julie’s solemn, fragile keys and bleak, heart-wrenching strings to achieve a sound previously unheard in modern music. Merzbacher’s often contemplative and broken vocals recall heart-on-sleeve balladry, but he’s also unafraid to apply the gripping shout of his former metal career and bark his devastation with full emotional candor. While he lays his barest feelings front-and-center, Julie’s unsettling piano melodies ground his weight in a more accessible soundscape, resulting in the most universally enjoyable and sonically novel work either musician has committed to record.
Julie and the Wolf will make their live debut tomorrow, Thursday, October 29, the evening beforeAblaze releases. The duo will play a free album release event in Montreal’s legendary Phi Center, and it’s sure to be merely the first of many shows to come.
Producer: Frédéric Desproges
Director: Yan Giroux
Director of Photography: Olivier Laberge
Camera Assistant: Arturo Fransolet, Pat Biron
Art Director: Ben Morin
Stylist: Marie Dextradeur
Set Dresser: Basset Drias
Casting Directors: Brigitte Viau et Isabelle Thez-Axelrad.
Line Producer: Christina Lalonde
Production Assistants: Étienne Blanchette, Yan Merzbacher
Editor: Yan Giroux
Colorist: André Montambeault – Rodéo Fx
Production Coordinator: Audréanne Pauzé
Production: ALT Cinélande Vidéo MTL Cinépool
