Coming from her long-awaited debut album, Natasha Jane Julian’s song ‘Did I Forget’ is a downtempo ballad focused on what happens when a relationship stagnates and a couple stops communicating on an emotional level.
Natasha Jane Julian has shared ‘Did I Forget?’ from her acclaimed debut album, Beauty That Lies.
Since she first emerged on the scene just under a decade ago, Natasha has drawn favorable comparisons with some of the world’s most prominent electronic, art-pop, and ambient artists.
She released her debut EP Angel in 2019, which helped her gain a sizeable listenership and assert herself as an original artist. The EP also saw her working with GRAMMY Award-winning producer Dom Morley, a move which helped Natasha find the beautiful, ambient sonic architecture that has defined all of her songs since then.
In May 2024, Natasha finally released her debut album, Beauty That Lies. The album was preceded by highly acclaimed singles such as ‘Pink Roses,’ ‘Singing In The Rain,’ ‘Devil Eyes,’ and the recent release ‘Take Me To Paradise’. Her blissful art-pop and trip-hop sound meant that she instantly appealed to listeners, while her lyricism also showed that she had a flair for exploring deeper matters related to the heart, the mind, and the human condition.
While there is no shortage of standout songs on Beauty That Lies, ‘Did I Forget’ is marked out by the fact that it’s a beautifully contemplative song about relationships, break-ups, and the underlying emotional problems that only become clear to us with hindsight.
With a searing eye for detail, Natasha takes the listener through the subtle tumultuousness of a relationship already past the failing stage. She sings: “Why do I feel the need to make it right?/[I] wanna take the high road”, even as she feels like there’s nothing she can do to reset things to how they once were. She sings touchingly about the act of “forgetting” in the context of relationship communication; how two people can “forget” to talk things through, forget to let their emotions out, forget to vocalize the anger they have inside them, and – ultimately – fail to make the tough decisions at the necessary time.
Natasha Jane Julian said she began moving towards more “confessional songwriting” as her artistry developed. This movement has borne a lot of fruit for her, even if it sounds like it’s come at the cost of some heartbreaking internal journeys.
‘Did I Forget’ is a journey into a darker time in Natasha’s life. Still, within the sentimental ballad structure of the song, she finds rich, evocative, and soul-stirring ways of talking about overcoming relationship troubles. It’s probably no coincidence that ‘Did I Forget’ comes in the middle of the album – this song feels like one of BTL’s focal points.
Natasha Jane Julian’s debut album, “Beauty That Lies,” is out. For more information on the artist, visit her website.
