Waking up is sometimes a good thing

There may be a slough of female songstresses scattered about the indie landscape, but few are able to convey their melancholy quite as deliciously as Julie Doiron does. \nDorion began her career playing bass for Canada's own Eric's Trip in 1990 at age 18. When Eric's Trip ended in 1996, she began a promising solo career under the moniker of "Broken Girl." She eventually began releasing music under her own name and has released six full length albums and two EPs prior to I Woke Myself Up. \nDoiron works her way through 11 tracks in an understated and endearing fashion. This is precisely what makes her musical personality so likable. She sings in a manner that is earnest and telling, but never overbearing. The instrumentation of the record complements these qualities well. In addition to Doiron's signature fingerpicking and strumming of her acoustic guitar, simple accompaniments fill in the areas that otherwise may have been too sparse or dreary.\nIn typical Doiron fashion, she gives us the gist of her anguish, but underlying the sting of disappointment is a hope that shines through even in murky and remorseful songs like "The Wrong Guy." Doiron isn't sad just for the sake of it like some artists today seem to be -- she uses her gloom to make poignant songs that help us recognize and embrace our own mistakes and frailties.\nHowever, one respect in which the downtrodden Doiron disappoints is with the length of the album. The whole endeavor is less than a half-hour and no song reaches the four-minute mark. The underdeveloped song "No More" pulls you in with a laid-back groove and karaoke-worthy vocals only to fade out shortly after two minutes. Some of the album left me wanting more, but in actuality, the pacing of the album actually eliminated any opportunity for me to grow weary with the experience. It could be likely that a conscious decision was made to keep things shorter to keep the album more interesting as a whole. Nevertheless, some songs felt like they could have benefited from additional expansion.\nDespite the album's literal shortcomings, it was still a worthwhile and strangely comforting experience. Listening to this album is like hearing a friend pour his or her heart out when their day hasn't gone right. Like a good friend, you should lend a sympathetic ear to this album.