New York City singer-songwriter Julia Greenberg released new single “Leaves” on Tuesday, April 21, a quietly devastating alt-country track written in the aftermath of personal loss and the first preview of her Born Sentimental EP, out Thursday, June 11 via New Jersey’s Magic Door Record Label.
Built on acoustic guitar and spare, lived-in arrangements, “Leaves” carries the unhurried weight of grief processed over time rather than in the immediate shock of it. Greenberg references the classic Kurt Weill standard “September Song” midway through, turning it into a moment of self-reproach — a woman who knows better than to hold onto what’s already gone, still holding on anyway. Skylight Webzine called it “an organic, unfiltered warmth… a soft reminder of loss, change, and the peaceful promise of rebirth.”
An accompanying video, directed by Greenberg and edited by Nico Greenberg with Yumiko Takagi as director of photography, was filmed inside a small-town schoolhouse frozen in time, its dusty relics standing in for the people and milestones we’ve moved past but can’t quite release.
The EP was co-produced by Greenberg and Bob Perry of The Winter Hours and mastered by Ray Ketchem, known for his work with Guided by Voices, Luna and Gramercy Arms, at Magic Door Recording in Montclair, NJ. The band on the record includes Jeremy Chatzky on upright bass, Will Holshouser on accordion, Tricia Scotti on backing vocals and Paul Moschella on drums.
Greenberg is a downtown NYC institution with deep roots in American songwriting and theater. She has released two previous albums produced by James Mastro of The Bongos, had music featured on This American Life, and counts Ronnie Spector among artists who have recorded her songs. She is also the foremost interpreter of songwriter Dory Previn’s work and the archivist of Previn’s estate. Her award-winning documentary Dory Previn: On My Way to Where premiered at SXSW in 2024 and is now available on PBS.
Greenberg described Born Sentimental as a hard-won return to her own voice after years of work in service of others’ stories.
“After years of interpreting other people’s songs and making a film about my musical idol, Dory Previn, this release feels like some kind of catharsis,” Greenberg said. “It’s just me and my unadorned voice and musical companions of the last decade, doing what we do live.”
“Leaves” is available now on Bandcamp, Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon. The Born Sentimental EP is available for pre-order on Bandcamp.
Comments are closed.