Sarah Julia, an indie folk band made up of two sisters from the Netherlands, just released their second EP — a beautiful, somber depiction of young adulthood. Only Making It Worse features five songs filled with emotional lyrics, exquisite harmonies, and gorgeous instrumentals. 

The duo’s unbreakable bond as sisters clearly has a strong impact on their songwriting, resulting in music that is as vulnerable as it is captivating. “Daughters,” the first song on the EP, is “about the fears we grew up with and still carry, simply because we’re women. It’s about what it means to live in a world that so often forgets to keep us safe,” according to a post on Sarah Julia’s TikTok page. The line, “I don’t want to fear having daughters” is repeated six times throughout the song, emphasizing the visceral fear many women experience simply going about their day-to-day lives — a fear that becomes amplified when mothers must worry not only for their own safety, but also for the young women they brought into the world. 

Building upon the theme of mother-daughter bonds, the next song, “Amsterdam” is about the incredibly mixed emotions that arise towards the woman who raised you when you are moving out and becoming truly independent for the first time. The song begins by imagining a mother sitting alone at the table, with only a microwave dinner and the television for company, before we encounter the young woman, wracked with guilt at leaving her mother behind as she asks, “How could I put me first?” This kind of vivid lyrical imagery is a core component of Sarah Julia’s music, and one of their strengths as songwriters. Musically, the vocals and guitars build up to the chorus, picking up intensity until the crescendo of the line “I ain’t moving on without her” before slowing down again in the second verse. The emotion-filled, almost pleading, vocals at the end of the song highlight the internal conflict in moving away from home that so many of us can relate to.

Another standout track on Only Making It Worse is “Use A Friend,” a humorous depiction of a selfish friend who can’t help but minimize your problems while making everything about themselves. Despite the darker subject matter, this catchy, upbeat song will have you humming along before the end of the second chorus. 

I first discovered Sarah Julia when they opened for Paris Paloma at Chicago’s Thalia Hall in March of this year. Their stage presence was sweet, if not a bit shy, understandable given the size of the venue and the fact that it was just the two of them onstage, along with an acoustic guitar, a mandolin, and a small keyboard. While Sarah Julia sometimes performs with an additional backing band, I appreciated the stripped-down version of their performance as it highlighted the vulnerability of their music and the sisterly bond between the two of them. What’s more, the way their voices filled the entire theatre with perfectly balanced and harmonious melodies was nothing short of magical. If you ever get a chance to see them live, I highly recommend doing so. In the meantime, stream Only Making It Worse and follow Sarah Julia on Instagram and TikTok for updates and the occasional acoustic cover.