Julien Baker’s ‘Turn Out The Lights’ is a masterpiece of intimacy. While retaining the confessional lyrics and sparse instrumentation of her debut, ‘Sprained Ankle’, her second release pulls us in closer. We’re no longer observers: we feel what she feels.
Her lyrics return to similar themes as her first record, escorting us to the dark places her mind goes. The emphasis also remains on her vocals here, which consistently adds weight to her words. Her soft and expressive voice feels like that of a friend telling you their troubles; you can hear the breathiness and hang on every word.
This time around, though, there are observations of more universal moments: the time before you fall asleep when you can’t distract yourself from your thoughts (Turn Out The Lights), the smell of your loved one's breath as they lie beside you (Sour Breath), the silent, comforting company of a friend (Hurt Less). These connections allow us to relate much more to her stories.
The instrumentation is still stripped back. We hear the squeak of a guitar string, the vibrato of a cello, the echo of a piano key, and feel like we’re in the same room.
The album starts with the creak of a door opening, and the stomp of footsteps, as Baker sits down at the piano and invites us in with a sorrowful yet beautiful instrumental that seamlessly leads into the first track, Appointments. From that moment we’re in her world. At the end the last sound is a guitar lead being unplugged from an amp, as if to say: “You can go now, I’ve finished my story.”
The arrangements have become slightly more complex. Strings, organ, the introduction of backing vocals and a greater reliance on piano ensure that these songs ebb and flow while building to much more devastating emotional climaxes. It works the other way as well. On Sour Breath the music cuts out leaving Baker to hauntingly sing: “You’re everything I want and I’m all you dread.”
It’s the little embellishments, though, that really add character and pull us in. There’s the moment on Hurt Less when Baker is imagining dying in a car crash. Her vocals and the music trail off as she sings: “I hope my soul goes too.” On Televangelist it’s not until she make a religious reference that the organ comes in. The feedback on her vocals at the close of Sour Breath, as she sings, “The harder I swim the faster I sink’, makes it sound like she’s underwater.
Baker doesn’t wallow in the darkness. However dim it gets she always tries to find the light. On Claws In Your Back her voice gets stronger as the song develops. When she finally sings “I changed my mind. I wanted to stay” she is big and powerful. Ultimately, ‘Turn Out The Lights’ is about redemption through connections. Baker not only finds hope within her songs but joins with us through shared experience. As she heals, we do.
Julien Baker Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Mon November 06 2017 - BRISTOL Lantern
Tue November 07 2017 - LEEDS Brudenell Social Club
Wed November 08 2017 - GLASGOW CCA
Thu November 09 2017 - DUBLIN Whelans
Fri November 10 2017 - LONDON Union Chapel
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