Julia Wolf - Pressure (2025) [Hi-Res]

Indie-pop singer-songwriter Julia Wolf returns with Pressure, the powerful follow-up to 2023’s Good Thing We Stayed. Where that album flirted with trap-pop textures, Pressure delves deeper—emotionally, sonically, and thematically.

“The title says it all,” Wolf explains. “Pressure is what sets me free.” It’s a fitting name for a record that wrestles with the expectations and constraints imposed by the music industry—and ultimately emerges stronger.

The album cover is striking: a woman suspended from a tree by body hooks, recalling A Man Called Horse (1970). It’s jarring, visceral imagery, but Wolf insists it captures her truth. “There’s a little blood,” she says, “but her suspension is almost a way of feeling better.” Pain, here, becomes catharsis.

Throughout Pressure, Wolf pushes back against an industry that expects her to be more famous, more polished, more predictable. Instead, she leans into discomfort—and carves out something boldly her own. Among the standout tracks is “KILL YOU OFF,” which opens with glitchy stutters before locking into a sharp, clean groove. Wolf’s vocal performance is captivating, balancing rich, commanding tones with breathy intimacy.

On “PEARL,” heavy textures and alt-rock dynamics drive the song’s fierce confrontation of a copycat rival. Wolf’s sing-song phrasing adds a biting edge: “You’re such an actress pretending you still have this / Your sh*t is average, on the low you can’t get past this.”