Raised on classic rock, 24 year old North Shore native Natalie Joly grew up believing everyone was a musician. “[I had] a warped perception that everyone was a musician which led to an odd realization in third grade when I tried to ask my friends to start a band and they didn’t know what I was talking about,” explains Joly. Coming from a musical family, the idea just came naturally to her. “It’s just what I do.” Spending her childhood listening to The Beatles, she fell under the impression that these four dudes from Liverpool were the only band that existed. However her horizons exploded upon learning of such legendary artists such as The Rolling Stones, Guns N’ Roses and Boston’s own Aerosmith. Entering her teen years, she began to absorb more pop adjacent artists like Bruno Mars, Lady Gaga, Ashlee Simpson and Taylor Swift, the latter she credits as being greatly influential in her songwriting. “At this point in my career I feel like I’m finally bringing all of these influences together,” says Joly.
Now in early 2021, Joly is gearing up to release her third album, and first that will be released online for the general public. Following a tumultuous year of delays and tectonic shifts due to the ongoing pandemic where Joly made the decision to go solo from her band The Reckless Hearts, this new album is an opportunity for the singer to showcase “so many years of creativity bottled up [and to] show people what I’m made of,” Natalie describes. Both the title and release date for the forthcoming album are yet to be announced, but today Joly shares with listeners the third single, “Yours to Stay”. Following initial singles “Will You Ever Stop” and “Running Circles”, this new track is a sweeping ballad of love, uncertainty and desperation. “It’s a last ditch effort of putting myself out there… take it or leave it.”
Wanting the story, song and music video to be as cohesive as possible, Joly found the perfect spot to shoot: An abandoned mansion in her hometown of Wakefield, MA, that has since been torn down to make way for future developments. A favorite place to drink for high schoolers, the derelict property served as a beautifully rough backdrop for both the “Yours to Stay” and “Will You Ever Stop” videos. Faced with bitter cold and unforgiving rain, the crew battled the elements over three days in late 2019 to get the footage they needed. Sleek in all black, Joly strolls into the house past broken windows and empty rooms to find a lonesome grand piano. Warm breaths permeate the frigid air around her as she fills the space with her rich vocal. She takes a drag of a cigarette leaning on a rundown pool table littered with solo cups and broken glass, as she grapples with invisible demons. Drones capture dramatic shots of Joly belting out from the rooftop before the song closes out as she collapses on a staircase, surrendering to the final lyric “maybe this will end today.”
Writing the lyrics, playing guitar and piano and handling the production for most of her songs, Joly admits to drawing the line at playing drums and mixing the songs. “[Piano] brings out a totally different side of me. When I’m on guitar I wanna be like Slash, but when I’m on the piano I turn into Elton John… I’m more emotional on piano.”
When faced with comments from local critics about the alleged decaying state of rock music in Boston, Natalie had this response: “It’s an easy thing to say, but if you look for it, there’s a lot of people who still want it. [To] people who say rock is dead, I just say “really?” I don’t think rock is dead, I think it was sleeping for a minute but music is always transitioning.” Continuing on about the abundance of talent throughout the Greater Boston area, Joly had this to say: “Boston has so much talent, but I don’t understand why it’s so difficult to lift people up in this community. There are so many artists working in the cover scene, who aren’t given the opportunity to show their art. A lot of people around here don’t know that their favorite cover artists are actually writing behind the scenes and we would love it if people would pay attention to our original music.”
In between covering artists like Carly Simon, Janis Joplin and Norah Jones in her Instagram and YouTube accounts, Joly finds time to enjoy one of her other true loves: Italian food. “This is the most Italian thing I’ve ever said, but my favorite food is probably my mom’s cooking to be perfectly honest.” But when she isn’t enjoying her mother’s cooking, she frequents Sabatino’s in downtown Wakefield and Venetian Moon in Reading, MA (both spots that Joly has gigged in the past).
As for when the pandemic is finally over, Natalie can’t wait to get back to playing more shows. Keeping her expectations in check due to the changing reality of what shows will even look like in a post-COVID world, Joly hopes for some intimate performances to showcase her new music. “Whatever way that looks like I’m fine with, as long as I get to go back on stage and connect with people. I feel like that’s what we all need right now, a little bit more human connection.”
Watch the video for Natalie Joly’s new song “Yours to Stay” below, and check out her recent singles on her Spotify now!