Julien Baker

I couldn't agree more with the past few comments about a certain someone needing to be on here. It's an honesty travesty that I've neglected to include her on this blog for so many months now, so I simply can't excuse waiting any longer. Julien Baker is a singer-songwriter from Memphis, Tennessee who self-released her debut album on Bandcamp back in 2014. A year later it was picked up by 6131 Records and officially released as Sprained Ankle, and its caught a wildfire of attention.

These songs are gorgeously crafted, and the whole thing reads like a poet's diary. They are incredibly personal reflections on some heavyweight subject material. What Julien captures are some very tough and emotional topics and convey them in a simple, modest way. Much like her main influences Ben Gibbard and Elliott Smith, and all great writers for that matter, she can say a complex thing in a simple way. She's both very open and very relatable, making for a very personal listening experience, as I'm sure it is for a very personal playing experience. Her songs are accompanied by a very haunting, disparate guitar sound that borders the line between folk and ambient, which is obviously a very unique mesh. I can't say enough good things about her music, so just give it a listen if you haven't already and give her any kind of support where you can. Enjoy.

Sprained Ankle (2015)

1. Blacktop

2. Sprained Ankle

3. Brittle Boned

4. Everybody Does

5. Good News

6. Something

7. Rejoice

8. Vessels

9. Go Home

Audiotree Live (2016)

1. Sprained Ankle

2. Rejoice

3. Something

4. Go Home

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