Julien Baker - Sprained Ankle, my god

no doubt in my mind JB knows Eisley's stuff

the little "In Christ Alone" interlude at the end of "Go Home" on Sprained Ankle threw me for a loop the first time i heard it

"turn out the lights" (the song) is out and it's stunning and huge

song is amazing, album is amazing. Does such a great job expanding the sound of her first album while preserving the feel of it.

my god

Just bought tickets to see her at the end of November (w/David Bazan opening). She's playing a gorgeous old theater here with amazing acoustics, looking forward to just sinking into it.

Seeing her next week for what will surely be her last gig under twenty bucks.

she is amazing and deserves every success but boy did she zoom past Bazan, a guy who's been good to great for a long time

i realize this happens all the time, that xpost just struck me.

https://www.thefader.com/2017/10/18/julien-baker-turn-out-the-lights-sprained-ankle-interview

I just really need this to be streaming somewhere so I can properly cry along to the new songs at the gig next week

We speak a few days after Baker opened for one of her longtime heroes, Paramore
surprised at this connection - slightly off topic, where do I start if I want to get to know Paramore?

i like the self-titled a lot

s/t or brand new eyes

I used to get Paramore vibes from her music. Different volume levels, obviously, but there's a similar emotional/blunt candor to their songwriting

Seconding s/t; that one is their masterpiece. Riot! is one of my favorite alt-rock albums of the '00s, though, and probably their most influential, even if it's the one most people feel like they've outgrown

the new one is my fave but it's definitely an outlier sonically. S/T is probably the correct answer

thanks, will listen!

She walked on right after "Rose-Colored Boy," lol

It was a v good show but not quite as entrancing as the last one, probably cause the venue was 4x bigger and people were filming and singing along this time

sounds p cool!

I also picked up the new album at the show and it's very good but tbh I'm just not sure about her move to the piano. She's an incredible guitarist but a fairly plain pianist and it turns the piano-based songs into blunter, less expressive things.

1:49 in Shadowboxing - shivers

i'm listening to this right now. if i can find someone to go w/ me i'm gonna see her sunday.

The new one's really good. "Sour Breath" is the one I keep repeating whenever it comes on.

She's a terrific lyricist, too -- the territory she covers could veer into maudlin or self-indulgent really easily, but her metaphors are vivid and honest.

and relatable, I think ... she sings about universal things in a way that feels not just personal, but tangible

I think my *slight* disappointment with the album stems from how much I loved the "Funeral Pyre"/"Distant Solar Systems" single. The album feels a bit broader and safer by comparison

Yeah, that single is very intimate. Reminds me of Elliot Smith's earlier stuff. But I also like the sweep of the new one, it's kind of like bedroom stadium-rock.

hurt less, my god

she is so powerful

I don't get the hype, and i tried. I thhink it might be the dramatic singing style

"Sour Breath" is still my fav, but man that closer.

this album is fine. idk why i am particularly unable to connect with it. i was sorta hoping the expanded arrangements would include drums

"hurt less" is v good

Tried listening to this album today. It sounds like it was commissioned by a music supervisor at Hulu. Maybe the most faceless thing I've heard all year. Genuinely baffled by the appeal of stuff like this - or at least baffled how people can tell this sad-girl-with-guitar from the six dozen others who sound exactly like her who also put out albums this month.

ah

imo she has a very distinctive sound but if you describe female singer-songwriters as "sad-girl-with-guitar" it could be this isn't a genre that you're really giving a fair chance

yeah i think it's pretty apparent why she sticks out—the austerity of her arrangements, her songwriting approach sort of finding the middle between emo and, like, songs: ohia

I think you hit on why I'm a bit lukewarm on the record, brad. The expanded arrangements work to make the songs more homogenous and less impactful than the debut. it's easy to forget she's still very early in her career and figuring out what works.

lol thank you for deriving that extremely good point from my not particularly good post. yeah i think that's about right

xp I don't know any other artists writing the way she does and she has a very distinctive vocal and sound

her personality and story are also interesting and probably a part of the package

I believe "Hurt Less" is the first song of 2017 to make me cry

Genuinely baffled by the appeal of stuff like this - or at least baffled how people can tell this sad-girl-with-guitar from the six dozen others who sound exactly like her who also put out albums this month.

woof

Anyway, this record was never going to hit like the debut did but it pretty clearly succeeds in what it sets out to do. I think to the extent that a few tracks fall flat for me (at least right now) it's just because the songwriting isn't as impeccable as it was on the debut. But there are still like five or six tracks on this thing that are right on par with Sprained Ankle, and that's pretty remarkable.

Elliott Smith comparisons really hold. It's the difference between Roman Candle and XO.

Tried listening to this album today. It sounds like it was commissioned by a music supervisor at Hulu. Maybe the most faceless thing I've heard all year. Genuinely baffled by the appeal of stuff like this - or at least baffled how people can tell this sad-girl-with-guitar from the six dozen others who sound exactly like her who also put out albums this month.

― grawlix (unperson), Wednesday, November 1, 2017 1:26 PM (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

this is a horseshit opinion, not that i would expect much else

the six dozen others who sound exactly like her who also put out albums this month

name names! looks like i have some catch up listening to do.

yeah i'm doing a big EOY catch-up and would also love to know who these six dozen sad girls with guitars are

so i can make time in my personal schedule for all of them

https://pitchfork.com/features/song-by-song/julien-baker-delves-into-the-trauma-and-triumph-behind-every-song-on-her-new-album/

I honestly found reading that to be more emotionally bracing than listening to the album :(

for people who like JB I would recommend the most recent albums by Emma Ruth Rundle and Sarah Mary Chadwick

I connected hard to a couple of the songs on her first album, but my first impression of this new album is actually that on the whole I like it better than the first. Beautiful melodies, lyrics still raw in the best ways.

great interview, this woman is truly brilliant

and infinitely more knowledgeable than I was at 22

Saw her last night, she was terrific. Her voice is really something you have to hear live to fully appreciate, how huge it is and how skillful and subtle she's gotten at deploying it. Amazing clarity of tone in both her singing and playing, it was really radiant.

This album has not lost its lustre for me. "Shadowboxing" is just crushing

oh fuck I missed that there was a new album, it is also amazing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdOZxrp7t7s