Watch Julianna Riolino turn timeless influences into her own brand of modern Americana

When Julianna Riolino announced her debut album this past summer, it came with a song close to the Toronto singer's heart: "Lone Ranger," one she had written as a teenager many years ago, and the first song of hers that she'd ever shown to anyone.

"We almost didn't record it," she recently told Damhnait Doyle, the brand new host for CBC Music's The Intro. "It was always in my back pocket, I tried recording it when I was much younger and nothing sounded good — and I also didn't believe in myself."

Thankfully for us, Riolino found confidence in her solo footing eventually. After years as a longtime fixture in Daniel Romano's band the Outfit — the two swapped places for Riolino's solo work, as Romano takes a supporting role. She "breathed new life into ['Lone Ranger'] and made it what it always should've been," which was the perfect introduction to her brand of power pop-meets-Americana.

All Blue showcases many sides of Riolino, from the honky-tonk piano of "Lone Ranger" to the '60s girl-group harmonies of "You" to the down-to-earth twang of "Queen of Spades." The singer-songwriter, who mostly taught herself guitar at the age of 12 and always wanted to sing, has notes of Jenny Lewis, Dolly Parton and Emmylou Harris in her music, but while paying tribute to these influences Riolino doesn't ever lose herself in their tradition. Her lyrics are wry and honest, as she knowingly sings on "Queen of Spades": "May I call your spade a spade?/ May I tell it like it is?/ It hurts me to the deepest depths/ feeling second-hand chagrin."

"[It's] just a little ditty I wrote at my kitchen table when I was feeling sassy," Riolino explains to Doyle, an explanation that we suspect might be where the songwriter comes from a lot of the time. But Riolino isn't overly attached to her own interpretations of the songs after they're written; she wants people to make them their own — and for their meanings to change for her, too.

"I write music to try to encapsulate a feeling … then it's up to the listener to create their own feeling and connect with it," she says. "Once it's written and recorded, it's mine, but also it changes and evolves in whatever way the listener or I want it to, however it connects with me."

Watch Riolino perform songs from her debut album above, on Season 3 of The Intro.

CBC Music's The Intro spotlights emerging musicians across the country through interviews and live performances, and airs on CBC Gem, YouTube and CBCMusic.ca/TheIntro. Keep an eye out for new episodes every second Tuesday.