With no malice, Julia Pratt untangles the destruction of her family on 'Family Feud'

For Immediate Release

May 10, 2024

WITH NO MALICE, JULIA PRATT UNTANGLES THE DESTRUCTION OF HER FAMILY

ON NEW EP FAMILY FEUD —

OUT NOW VIA RECORDS — STREAM

RELEASES EP’S SHORT FILM — WATCH

HOMETOWN EP RELEASE SHOW IN PHILADELPHIA

TOMORROW NIGHT + UPCOMING TOUR DATES

SUPPORTING AMOS LEE

Press photo by Madi Napieralski [Download]

“Threaded with her sturdy falsetto… a promising indication of all Pratt is capable of — and leaving fans eager for the next journey.”

“...balanced ethereal beauty and intimate emotional sonic waves.”

“...it’s one to take your breath away.”

Today, Philadelphia’s Julia Pratt releases her new EP Family Feud via RECORDS. Pratt bares her most core anguish through music, from the destruction of her family, to her lived experiences as a woman of color, in hopes that dissecting her heart for all to see gives others the courage to feel less alone. While applying R&B techniques to indie-folk, her sky-grazing storytelling, in her voices from childhood to the present, exists as a deeply necessary form of therapy; one that doesn’t keep her dwelling on the past, but propels her forward as she heals — Stream.

Opening with “Visions,” Pratt makes it clear that she has every intention of showing the darkest corners of her psyche. Over a fingerpicked campfire acoustic guitar, she sings about fearing death and how all-consuming her OCD was as a child. “I was plagued with the fear that something would happen to my mom if I did anything wrong, and that anything that happened to her would be my fault,” she recollects. “‘Visions’ explores this voice, and foreshadows the death of my childhood and life as I knew it.”

Moving into the rippling “Bull In A China Shop,” Pratt shifts to the voice of her teenage self. “Marked as the scapegoat of the family, I’ve struggled my whole life to see myself outside of this role. In this song I explore my relationships with my parents, substances, mental illness, and myself as I navigate the internalized labels that my family placed on me in my youth.”

On “Carolina,” Pratt folds all of her history into a haunting song about returning to someone, something, someplace you used to love, but just can’t seem to recognize anymore. The song’s layered exploration of identity, of what it means to be a daughter grown and changed, of searching for home, matches the echoey wordless harmonies and loping guitar.

A foil to “Carolina,” “Chronos, Cruel Handler” is named for the ancient Greek mythological symbol of time. “[This song] arose from thinking about generational trauma and about my father. In this song I contrast our upbringings, and unpack the cycle that has repeated in both of our lives — the cycle that has most likely repeated over and over again in the lives of those that came before us as well.”

Closing the EP now in her adult voice, “Michael” is an angelic ballad addressed to her father. “My dad missed many of the pivotal moments in my life that have made me who I am today, and I wanted to lay it all bare and get him up to date. My letter is a mixture of anger, resentment, and pain — but ultimately also forgiveness and acceptance. I learned that the only way I can move forward is to be completely honest about how I feel towards my dad, so this song marks how I felt when I wrote it.”

From front to back, Family Feud sees Pratt grow up over the course of five songs. Painfully transparent in delivery, the EP pulls no punches when it comes to familial relationships, but Pratt notes that even that is a part of the healing process. “My goal with this project was just to share my truth, and [my father] was very accepting of that,” she says. “I never wanted to be malicious, but this is my assessment, with all of the compassion I have for his story and life.”

Family Feud EP artwork [Download]

Family Feud Tracklist

“Visions”

“Bull In A China Shop”

“Carolina”

“Chronos, Cruel Handler”

“Michael”

Along with the EP, the Family Feud short film has been released today. Weaving together the storylines of the previously released videos for “Carolina” and “Chronos, Cruel Handler,” the full film is a haunting walk through the EP, with an adult lens put over childlike memories. Directed by Samantha D’Alessio and edited by Keats, Pratt not only shares her anguish through words, but through how she physically emotes — Watch.

Having just wrapped up a tour run supporting Angie McMahon and hopping on a date in DC with flipturn, Pratt will continue reaching new audiences with upcoming tour dates with Amos Lee. Tomorrow night, she will play her first ever headline hometown show at The Foundry in Philadelphia, celebrating the release of Family Feud. The show will be presented by WXPN with support from Shallow Alcove and Kennedy Shaw. Later this summer, she will join the lineups of Green River Festival, Rhythm & Roots Festival and Iron Blossom Music Festival. See all upcoming tour dates here and below.

UPCOMING TOUR DATES

May 11 - Philadelphia, PA - The Foundry &

May 13 - Huntington, WV - Joan C. Edwards Performing Arts Center #

May 14 - Asheville, NC - Thomas Wolfe Auditorium #

May 16 - Wilmington, NC - Greenfield Lake Amphitheater #

May 17 - Washington DC - Warner Theatre #

May 18 - New Brunswick, NJ - State Theatre New Jersey #

May 20 - Albany, NY - The Egg #

May 21 - Boston, MA - MGM Music Hall at Fenway #

May 22 - Brooklyn, NY - Brooklyn Paramount #

May 24 - Ridgefield, CT - Ridgefield Playhouse #

May 25 - Portland, ME - State Theatre #

June 21 - Greenfield, MA - Green River Festival

August 30 - September 1 - Charlestown, RI - Rhythm & Roots Festival

September 21-22 - Richmond, VA - Iron Blossom Music Festival

& EP release show w/ Shallow Alcove and Kennedy Shaw

# supporting Amos Lee

All tour info here

Ahead of today’s EP, Pratt released her singles and videos “Carolina” and “Chronos, Cruel Handler.” The tracks received tremendous support from WXPN, 1883 Magazine, Ones to Watch, Vanyaland, Grimy Goods and many others, along with editorial support from Spotify’s New Music Friday, Fresh Folk and Roots Rising, Apple Music’s Acoustic Chill and New in Singer Songwriter, Amazon’s Breakthrough Folk, plus much more. Her newly inked deal with RECORDS was also shared by Billboard.

Over the last couple of years, Pratt has seen her influence bubbling up in Philadelphia and beyond. After a serendipitous online encounter that caught the attention of fellow Philadelphians and indie-folk giants Mt. Joy, the artists joined forces for the intimately aching “A Little Love.” With that new wind under her wings, she then went on to release her Two to Tango EP. Her stunning live session for WXPN and opening for Brandi Carlile, The Revivalists, The Head And The Heart, Angie McMahon and flipturn, mixed with her ever-maturing songwriting, have primed Pratt for the release of her new EP.

Press photo by Madi Napieralski [Download]

ABOUT JULIA PRATT

Julia Pratt understands the bond that binds us to our family. Chosen or blood. And if you’re willing to take the first step, your experience could be the perfect bridge for connection. “The world is full of painful, beautiful experiences, and I share them to heal myself, to build connection, to fight the loneliness,” singer-songwriter Julia Pratt says with a knowing smile. On the 23-year-old’s new EP, Family Feud, Pratt dissects her own heart, her complicated relationship with her father, her experience as a woman of color in America, and lays it all bare on the operating table in the hopes that you’ll feel the courage to do the same.

All of that history is folded into lead single “Carolina”, a haunting song about returning to someone, something, someplace you used to love but you just can’t seem to recognize anymore. “I don’t feel how I wanna feel around you/ I don’t feel how I’m supposed to feel around you/ I don’t feel anymore,” Pratt sings in a furrowed falsetto, a soulful take on Florence + the Machine sky-grazing. The song’s layered exploration of identity, of what it means to be a daughter grown and changed, of searching for home matches the echoey wordless harmonies and loping guitar.

Pratt’s experience as a woman of color plays into the song’s wary eye to the past both in the song and the EP at large. Between not feeling Black enough for her mom’s side of the family or white enough for parts of Southern culture, Pratt’s youth was full of a questioning and internal conflict—what surely must have been a terrible weight to carry, but manifests in Family Feud’s powerful self-inspection and her present conviction of identity.

Second single “Chronos, Cruel Handler” centers Pratt’s beatific voice over lithe, looping guitar lines and shifting brushed percussion. The following single, “Michael”, demonstrates that candid emotionality to a stunning degree, a piano-driven ballad in which she explores her fraught relationship with her father. “I find it funny/ That men would sell their daughters off for money/ While you ran off with empty pockets,” she offers, part Father John Misty production, part Sara Bareilles delivery.

Over the course of the EP’s five tracks, Family Feud explores pains and memories without ever wallowing, instead propelling Pratt’s innermost feelings into captivating slices of musical catharsis. “I'm at a place now where I'm okay with who I am,” she says. “You can claim me or not claim me, but I'm here.” And with enough time spent with this inspirational and thrilling EP, listeners might just be able to reach that same conviction.

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