New Music: Julianna Riolino – All Blue

ALL BLUE is the debut solo album by Julianna Riolino, the “white-hot-lunged vocalist” (New Commute) best known for her increasingly prominent role as a member of Daniel Romano’s Outfit, including a star turn on lead vocals on the 2021 hit “The Motions” and where she displays a nightly mastery of the stage.

Photo by Carson McHone

Julianna Riolino has a rare ability to re-envision the warmest strands of musical sepia and put her own individualist stamp on them, mixing a hefty dose of wit and wordplay into pitch-perfect representations of classic Americana tropes, sung in a powerful and unique voice, rich in character and attitude. She knows how to capture and highlight beauty before it fades. She spent her days running up to the recording of her solo debut helping restore the stained glass windows at St. Michael’s Cathedral in Toronto. Surrounded by symbols configured in bits of 19th century French glass, Riolino couldn’t help but reflect on her own past and the memories of pains, healing, and love strewn through it. “It made me think about life as a balancing act, and we’re all just trying to do our best to navigate it,” she says. That focus on morality and the stretch of time seeped naturally into Riolino’s songwriting, resulting in the golden, fluid All Blue: “If I was a painter, this would be my blue period,” she says. “I’m looking at my life, all my decisions lined up, and either atoning for them or laughing them off.”

Masterfully recorded by producer Aaron Goldstein, and featuring Julianna’s Outfit bandmates in support roles, All Blue marks the arrival of a stunning songwriter, singer, and performer into the spotlight.

Watch the video for the first single “Lone Ranger” now!