My Anti-Aircraft Friend 2 Years Later
by Amir Alston
Background: “julie” is an American Rock trio from Los Angeles, California consisting of Keyan Pourzand (vocals, guitar, left), Alex Brady (bass, vocals, right), and Dillon Lee (drums, center) who released their first studio album My Anti-Aircraft Friend (MAAF) in late 2024. julie has been around and putting out music since 2020 with their debut single “Flutter” which quickly went viral on TikTok, amassing millions of views in a short time. Since that single, the genre “Nu Gaze,” “Shoegaze” or “Zoomer gaze” (and for the sake of this article I will be referring to all as “Shoegaze”) have risen in popularity for the last six years—and julie as a band has helped propel the genre into the stratosphere.
The band has handled and navigated the popularity and fan base they gained following “Flutter” flawlessly. Unlike other bands that have a song take off on social media, and then ultimately fail to hold an audience, julie has steadily been releasing polarizing and genre-bending songs for the last six years while being unapologetically themselves the entire time as they experiment with sound and tone. My Anti-Aircraft Friend is the much anticipated debut album from julie.
When I first listened to the album, it was a different time in my life. I was still in high school and I didn't even have my application to Capital ready to go, but upon listening to the album in preparation for this article, I can confidently say that it hits as hard, if not harder, two years later.
Cover of My Anti-Aircraft Friend by julie
When you think of julie, you usually think of their explosive capabilities and non-stop energy that you'll find in songs like “Flutter,” “starjump,” and “skipping tiles.” With MAAF, it seems like julie is trying to shed this connotation, not by doing things like slowing down, changing tunings, or doing something drastic—no, it is definitely still julie, the energy is still there, but the delivery is completely different. There is a definitive push and pull that can be felt throughout the album. Instead of just being bombarded by the wailing distorted guitars of Keyan Pourzand and the rambunctious drums of Dillion Lee, there is an openness and a vulnerability that we witness from the band. The trading off of vocal leads between Keyan and Alex throughout the album contribute to this greatly. Songs like “Knob” give us the chance to witness this vulnerability. For five whole minutes we get to hear Keyan play in a way and sing in a range and style we have not heard ever from julie. The same is true with songs like “feminine adornments” and “stuck in a car with angels,” where we really get to see Alex be incredibly vulnerable with her almost haunting vocals throughout the album. The album is not short with its energetic moments, don't be fooled; songs like “clairbourne practice” and "catalogue” are ripping and energetic from beginning to end (fun fact: I couldn't move my neck for 2 days after I was in the pit during the Columbus stop of the MAAF tour. Amazing time). We also really get to witness the Sonic Youth influences that the band has spoken throughout their career so far throughout this album, specifically with the experimental sounds that are laced throughout the tracks.
The album feels a lot darker than the EPs and singles that propelled them into popularity. The band took a risk, but committed to it all the way and you can feel it and even hear it in some of the lyrics. “This time I’ll be mean and raw” is a line from the track “feminine adornments,” which has Alex on leads. This line sticks with me the most, even after all this time, because it is Alex explicitly saying that they are going to be unapologetically themselves, and they have stuck to this sentiment ever since the album dropped.
Now, they have not officially dropped any new music since the release, other than playing some unnamed songs during their live shows, but they have been consistently pumping out visual and interactive art pieces and experiences. They have started a subscription based magazine service called “ette” in which subscribers receive a handmade zine every month along with other exclusive handmade items. The band has also auctioned off recording and tour items on ebay starting at one dollar; the items included used cabinets, fried guitar pedals, and cracked drum shells that were all used in the recording for the album.
My Anti-Aircraft Friend is still as polarizing and enjoyable as it was 2 years ago. Since it is their debut album, it is hard to definitively say exactly where the trajectory of the band is headed, or what this album means for their legacy, but the future looks incredibly bright for the trio and I look forward to seeing where they go with this momentum.