Julie Collings
Album: A Beat To Follow
Label: Self Released
Tracks: 9
Website: http://juliecollings.co.uk/

I've been lucky enough to have been able to follow Julie Collings music career now for some six odd years, ever since her debut album, "Flotsam" landed on my door mat, back in 2006. "Flotsam" was followed by "A Little Bird Told Me" three years later. Three more years down the line and album number three arrives at the office.

I'm pleased to report that "A Beat To Follow" sees Julie Collings continue to go from strength to strength as a songwriter, bringing a greater range of experience to her observational style. Hopefully this is the album that will relieve her of the unfortunate and I'm sure unwanted epithet 'One of Derby's best kept secrets.'

In fairness it has to be said that Collings has been working hard to shed that provincial tag, having had one of her songs featured on the soundtrack of the Scout Taylor-Compton movie "Tomorrow Is Today" and another song chosen to feature as the track for an advert for Danish clothing company Matinique.

"A Beat To Follow" is the album to build on those foundations. There is a real strength to her writing, lean and sparse, but full of words and imagery, a series of vignettes, some designed top touch the soul, others just to explain the journey or aspects of a wider world.

I'm a big fans of songs that can be interpreted in a number of different ways and there's more than one track that fulfils this album on the album. Sometimes you think Julie is speaking directly to you, but come back to the same song in a different mind set and it's as though the song is morphing to match your mood and vision.

It leads to an album that is really easy to listen too, Julie Collings is an empathetic writer that's not going to let a hook pass her by when she hears one. "A Beat To Follow", consequently, feels like an album you can settle down to a glass of wine with and simply put the world to rights in your mind with.

It's also an album that is easy to share, it has that live, almost immediate feel, and yet has a resonance that makes you sense that this is going to be an album with real staying power. Hopefully this is the album that allows Julie to break out of the midlands and into the wider world.

At the time of writing, there is a free track, "Souls Of Our Shoes" available from Julie's website, so don't just take my word for it, try it for yourself and then, click the buy button.

Neil King