Sugaring a Strawberry, the sophomore record from Julia, Julia, is a study in coming undone on purpose. Recorded at COMA, Julia Kugel’s home studio, and mixed through a custom Flickenger clone, the album drifts in and out of clarity like memory itself. Her long-time collaborator and husband, Scott Montoya, mixes it all so loosely that you can hear the air between tracks—a space that makes the music feel inhabited rather than recorded.

Julia explains, “I made Sugaring A Strawberry in an effort to reconnect to something human. AI, streaming, and the digital experience of music have left me feeling a bit empty. I wanted to re-evaluate and reset. I would love for people to experience the record on vinyl – with all the cracks and imperfections. Along with the legendary Suicide Squeeze Records, Sugaring A Strawberry is proudly co-released on Happy Sundays Records—an extension of the festival we put on every year, which took place this past August. This will be the first record released on Happy Sundays Records.”

Julia released videos for all her album singles. Her latest video “Feeling Lucky,” is a playful interpretation of the song, the comfort of finding a friend at the bar even if they are imaginary. We all need a friend. We all need comforting, especially now. It’s not found in a glass, it’s found in connection. Regarding the video, Julia says, “just hugging that silly alien made me feel so much better. We need each other, to support each other, to acknowledge and laugh together. It’s really so simple I guess.” “Feeling Lucky” is one of the most outward-facing songs on the record. The track opens like a cigarette flicked in the dark– smoky and a little bit slick. Built on a skeletal beat and a nearly detached vocal, it leans into a sarcastic swagger that barely masks the ache beneath. The delivery is droll and glazed, the instrumentation is sparse and a little woozy, leaving space for her voice to sway—a shrug of a song, stylish in its sadness.

Watch “Feeling Lucky” video

Julia’s video for single “I Know,” was shot in VHS by Your Intimate Noise in hauntingly beautiful San Pedro, CA. It’s bleak but intriguing and romantic and the video is of Julia exploring the landscape in “No Trespassing” areas.” All glow and undercurrent, “I Know,” is like hearing someone hum through a wound. The track arrives as if it had been waiting, coiled and complete, to be sung. Its pulse is slow but insistent, anchored on a hypnotic loop and a vocal that’s half-incantation, half-confession. “But I’m a fighter now” rises like a mantra, fragile but certain, the kind of line that doesn’t demand belief so much as carry it.

Watch “I Know” video

Scott Montoya created the video for “A Love That Hurts.” “A Love That Hurts,” drifts in on soft, fingerpicked guitar and a dry, close-mic vocal that feels both haunted and immediate. The mix is stripped down and analog-warm, letting tape hum and silence frame the emotion. Julia sings like she’s remembering something she doesn’t want to, each line a slight unraveling. Like the rest of the album, “A Love That Hurts” doesn’t push toward resolution. It sits in the ache, sifts through it, makes it beautiful.

Watch “A Love That Hurts” video

And the first video for single “Bound,” was directed by Your Intimate Noise and edited by Scott Montoya. The video is a dreamy representation of the song – a retro style technicolor dream. “Bound” opens the album like a secret passed between sisters, solemn and unspeakably close. It begins with the softest of touches: hushed guitar, a near-whispered delivery that carries the intimacy of someone singing only for one other person. It’s a love song, but not romantic, more ancestral in the way long bonds can be. The lyric “I will be your home” is like a vow that has already been kept again and again. Hovering between devotion and entrapment, it unfolds slowly and sacredly.

Watch “Bound” video

Sugaring a Strawberry doesn’t seek catharsis so much as stumbles into it. There’s a quiet volatility to these songs like they might fall apart if you press too hard. It moves in shadow and softness, asking questions it doesn’t answer. It doesn’t end with closure. It ends with truth.

Praise for Sugaring a Strawberry new singles:

“…haunting and austere vocals with gentle guitar and an unvarnished sound.”
– Billboard Magazine

“…soft vocals, gentle guitar, and plenty of atmosphere.”
– FLOOD

“…A raw acoustic number…pairing ethereal and hypnotic vocals with swaying acoustic guitars, “Bound” serves as a powerful delivery of devotion, admiration, and affection.”
– New Noise Magazine

“Bound” feels as though it’s been pulled from the Twin Peaks roadhouse, a melody built on half remembered dream scapes and intrigue. It’s a recording that picks up on natural surroundings, echoing into the distance with a calming immediacy.“
– Post-Trash

“…a stunning, intense ballad.”
– Spinning Platters