Juliana Hatfield

Juliana Hatfield co-founded beloved Boston indie-rock trio the Blake Babies with Freda Love and John Strohm, injecting a glassy pop sensibility and keen knack for melody into the East Coast’s vibrant underground rock scene, which included peers like Dinosaur Jr., the Pixies and The Lemonheads. After releasing three LPs and an EP with the band, in 1992 her debut solo album, Hey Babe, proved Hatfield a force in her own right. Its 11 tracks of melodic alt-rock portend the explosion of her singular blend of hard and soft (and also the cultural impact of grunge figureheads Nirvana, detailed in the album’s song of the same name). That’s not to mention Hatfield’s crucial contribution as bassist and backing vocalist on The Lemonheads’ celebrated albums It’s a Shame About Ray (1992) and Come on Feel The Lemonheads (1993).

But it was Hatfield’s 1993 album Become What You Are — released under the moniker The Juliana Hatfield Three — that marked her a star. Its runaway single, “My Sister,” gave voice to women and girls worldwide, detailing the complex emotional stew of sisterhood and female friendship, and becoming a rare hit without a chorus. It topped the Billboard alternative chart in 1993, and the album was designated a rising phenomenon on the publication’s heatseekers index, peaking at the pole position. “Spin the Bottle,” a quirky, rollicking tune written in 5/4, was featured in Reality Bites, one of the era’s most celebrated films. Its accompanying video, directed by Ben Stiller, features Hatfield and the band playing the pubescent-favorite game alongside the actor Ethan Hawke and Belly’s Tanya Donelly. Its follow-up, Hatfield’s Only Everything, released in 1995, further highlighted her dexterous guitar shredding against a backdrop of melodic pop structures. It catapulted her fierce-yet-tender outlook to new heights, and produced two more celebrated singles, “Universal Heart-Beat” and “What a Life.” The same year, she contributed the original song “So-Called Angels” to cult-favorite television show My So-Called Life, and made her acting debut on the show’s Christmas episode.

Since her commercial peak, Hatfield has released 16 solo albums of stirring originals and imaginative covers, delving further into her love of melodic pop and rock frameworks, and fine-tuning her unmatched vision. In 2001 she reconvened the Blake Babies for a new album, God Bless the Blake Babies, and in 2016 she collaborated with The Replacements’ Paul Westerberg under the band name The I Don’t Cares.

Formed in 2019, the on being an angel sound is a mix of pop melodies boosted with fuzzy guitars and driving beats recalling the bubblegrunge era of the ’90s. The band has found themselves a bit of a chameleon in their local Austin scene being recruited to showcase their heavy side opening for Quicksand one night then softening for a stripped down duo set alongside Julie Doiron for another. The Angels first touched ground out on the open road supporting The Lemonheads last year for their 30th anniversary It’s A Shame About Ray tour, and will be hitting the road once again this Fall to support Juliana Hatfield on a string of Midwest dates in October. The group will also be joining Hatfield on the American Laundromat roster with their debut vinyl release of their new single “Playin It Cool” with B side KISS cover “Hard Luck Woman” available on 7” later this year on November 3rd.