"Life Is Beautiful Sometimes" LP Review [@juliusdolls]

Sitting somewhere between a mixture of Smash Mouth, Crazy Town and The New Radicals you have Julius Dolls. A guitarist, singer/songwriter from Chicago, he first entered the convoluted pool of Artist attempting to diversify themselves enough to stand out in a crowd of talent in late 2015.  In the beginning of 2016 he did a bit of a reintroduction of himself with a few tracks with a more focused sound of what was to come from his future efforts. A standout track to me was "Just Do (ft. Anthology & Prof)" which featured dense vocals and a style I think is suitable for such a name as Julius Dolls. I met him briefly at an Art exhibition; just enough time to give him props on this profound song.

A few weeks later he was to release what we now enjoy as "Life Is Beautiful Sometimes". This is feel good music. It doesn't really feel like a reflection of the times and for what this project is trying to accomplish I'm alright with that. This is something that was made for all the future Sunday mornings where you don't have a care in the world because you're surrounded by loved ones and you might go get brunch. The horns, guitars, and use of vocal instrumentation throughout give "Life Is Beautiful Sometimes" the consistency and cohesiveness many major album releases lack. This album blends well even when played out of order. And back to help Julius on his album is Prof, who gives us the best feature on "Leavin'" with his surprisingly soulful voice. You would not think his voice is of this time. It's truly dumbfounding.

So, really I think the one word I would use to describe this 9 track debut LP from Julius Dolls is serene. Across the punk rock and hip hop soundscapes you can hear a kinship between his collaborators and himself. Peace is a commodity in today's day & age and if you want to experience a small slice of it I don't know a better new project from an Independent Artist than this to get it from. There are moments on "Life Is Beautiful Sometimes" that solidify this for me. In the beginning of "Summer" you can hear crickets and a bonfire in the background. You get the point? If you don't I highly suggest you seek serenity now.