Perfect Vision (Vinyl)

When Julia Shapiro flew home from a cancelled Chastity Belt tour in April 2018, everything in her life felt out of control. Dealing with health issues, freshly out of a relationship, and in the middle of an existential crisis, she realized halfway through a tour supporting her band's third album I Used to Spend So Much Time Alone that she was going through too much to continue.

"I was really struggling; I was really depressed. I felt like I couldn't sing or be a person," Shapiro recalls. "At that point I couldn't even imagine playing a show again, I was so over it."

Returning home to a newly empty Seattle one-bedroom apartment, Shapiro had wanted for a long time to learn how to record and mix her own music, and out of the uncertainty of the future of her music career and her health, she began to record the songs that would become Perfect Version, her solo debut for Hardly Art. What she created in the space of ten songs is an intimate and beautifully self-aware examination of feeling lost in the life you've created for yourself. It's an album of shimmering guitars and layered vocals that feels vast in the emotional depth it conveys and masterful in the way each song is intentionally crafted and recorded.

Over the course of a tumultuous year of trying to find stability amidst depression and surgery, Shapiro ultimately rediscovered the parts of music that she loved through the process. Her perfectionist qualities create an album that shines in tiny lyrical moments and meticulous guitar parts.

"When the rest of my life felt out of control, I felt like this was my chance to be in control of everything," says Shapiro.

She plays all the instruments (save for a mouth trumpet solo by Darren Hanlon and guest violin by Annie Truscott), and after recording and mixing the first batch of four songs at the Vault studio with Ian LeSage, decided to record the final six tracks alone in her apartment, adding drums in the studio later and learning to mix them with the help of her friend David Hrivnak.

Perfect Version is a fully realized vision from a gifted songwriter finding a more intimate voice. "So what comes next?" she questions on the album closer "Empty Cup" which explores the quiet satisfaction of being alone with yourself and creating a blank slate. "A lasting sense of self," she concludes.

All orders are generally sent within 4-5 business days once payment has been received, or, in the case of a pre order, when the product becomes available, however please allow up to 10 business days once payment has been received for us to send your order. If we are unable to deliver your order to you within 30 days of the date of your Order Confirmation, you will have the option to cancel the order and are entitled to receive a full refund. Shipping may occur after 5 days if a later shipping date is specified.

All returns must be made within 14 business days of the ship date and any costs that you incur when sending the item back will be refunded to you. Refunds will not be given for the purchase of the wrong item, only store credit. Some returns may incur an extra shipping fee.