Jules Batterman recalls driving along a dark desert highway with her now-husband on a cross-country move to California. “It felt like it was going on forever,” she says on a recent video call.
Years later, Batterman, who fronts the L.A. band Julez and the Rollerz, referenced that drive in “Time,” the opening track on debut album Dirty Little Rock N Roller. It’s a song about the passage of time and disconnecting from the world, including our phones. “We don’t need these distractions,” says Batterman. “Experience life for what it is because there is so much going on.”
Julez and the Rollerz released their first EP, Is This Where the Party Is?, in 2023 and began writing for the full-length around the same time. “We didn’t have much of an idea of what this was going to be,” ssays Batterman. “We were just like we’re going to make an album and there were nine or ten songs, but there was no theme or there wasn’t any full idea for it, it was just forming over the years.”
Time became one of the themes that would pepper the album. On the song “I Don’t Know You,” Batterman sings about not recognizing her younger self. She wrote the song after years of living in Los Angeles. “So much has happened, COVID, I’ve had many jobs,” she says. “I live far away from my family and friends that I grew up with and I just feel like a completely different person and I’m so stuck in this zone of music industry and work and husband now … I can’t even remember what the other person was that I used to be when I lived in New York and New Jersey. It’s just a completely different reality for me.”
Dirty Little Rock N Roller was recorded in two sessions, in 2024 and 2025, at producer Alex Newport’s Yucca Valley studio. “We stayed in his trailer that was around the corner from the studio and it was the middle of the summer, so it was really hot,” says Batterman. “We were kind of dying, but it was still an amazing experience.”
The band brought varied influences to the table while writing. Batterman’s own love of Wolf Alice may have seeped into the mix. And there are certainly hints of 1970s-style glam rock and power pop. Batterman previously hosted a show on KPISS FM called “Rock N Roll Love Letter,” where she focused on those styles and has a particular affection for junkshop glam, i.e. the glam rock that didn’t get as big as T. Rex and New York Dolls. “I love that aesthetic of total chaos in outfits and theatrics,” she says. “I wouldn’t say that our music necessarily reflects that as much, there’s a lot of rock and roll in the music, but it’s not standard glam rock, but I think in spirit it’s very glam rock.”
Still, you can pick up the echos of Sweet and Slade in the hand claps that conclude “I Need Love” and the stomp that kicks off “Hot Take.” Says Batterman, “I just want people to dance to our music. That’s the dream.”
Dirty Little Rock N Roller is out now. Catch Julez and the Rollerz live at Zebulon for their album release party on Sunday, June 28. They’re also set to play The Banshee in San Diego on July 9.
Liz O. is an L.A.-based writer and DJ. Follow on Instagram or sign up for the weekly, Beatique newsletter for updates on new stories and gigs.
Listen to the Beatique Mix for June, 2026, featuring music from Yoko Ono, Scott Walker, Slayyyter, Purple Disco Machine , Madonna and more.
Keep Reading:
Replaced By Robots’ Retro-Futurist Theme For the End of the World