Vancouver songwriter Julia McDougall has announced the debut album from her dream pop project Yawn, previewed today by new single "help myself."
Produced primarily by Jo Hirabayashi (Jo Passed), wish i could've is due June 13. "I like to write songs that pin down all the feelings that are left floating around, the ones that, even years later, we can't really make sense of," McDougall said of the record, which press materials note is "about getting older, about losing track of dreams, and being met with the feelings of futility and failure."
Of the new single and album opener, the artist explained, "It's about the various kinds of doubt and darkness that we face, and how the constant noise of social media and mainstream culture dulls our ability to love ourselves. It was inspired by social media ads I was served during the early, frantic days of COVID isolation that were promising me that now was the time to finally 'get ripped.' It seemed detached from our lived reality that in the middle of a global pandemic, we were being force-fed so-called wellness ads that completely overlooked the psychological and emotional impact we were all facing."
Listen to Yawn's jaunty, synthesized take on early-'60s pop with "help myself" below, where you'll also find the album tracklist information.
wish i could've:
1. help myself
2. broken baby
3. coloured light
4. wish i could've
5. you & i
6. let it all go
7. i deserve better
8. wading in the water
9. back in my head
10. world is burning
11. wasting time
12. take your time