Julien Baker - Turn Out The Lights (October 27, 2017) Album • Page 33

"Hurt Less" feels like the prequel to "Blacktop".

 

Don't do this to me.

 

Julien and Jack? Why? Where did that even come from, haha.

 

Yeah Julien Baker is going to drop a fire pop album in 2020.

 

So this is good, but it does feel kind of formulaic. All of the songs are kind of built the same way.

 

I think her going full band / post rock type sound is way more likely than her and jack working together.

 

i wonder how much of the elliott smith (in terms of album direction shifts, obviously) comparisons will end up being accurate by the time her career has progressed much further

 

I'm loving the album, but this is a fair criticism. A fair number of the songs do the same thing where they build to this big ending with her singing at the top of her lungs. Those endings still get me every time though haha.

 

The mind of Jack himself, haha; he said it himself in a recent interview

 

No more formulaic than most albums, same tone and feeling from a lot of the songs, same mood, but lots of variance within. Similar to BN/MO/etc.

 

oh shite now it feels real

 

I mean it's not exactly a hugely negative criticism, a lot of music on this site is built the same way because that's what structures these genres lean on. So I guess if you compare this to BN pre TDAG (but they've always had pop sensibilities hiding under their music) and any MO besides their newest then yeah, all have a blueprint they kind of stick to. But I guess when it's mostly just Julien, her voice, either guitar or piano with some strings/woodwinds to add flourishes and then you also have a lot of identical song structures then it's just hard to differentiate. Maybe it's unfair and expect so much more already, I mean this is only her second record but I just think it is something she could improve on. Maybe having a band would make it a little better? I don't know. Still great, just my minor complaint.

 

I'd say all BN and MO follow virtually the same structure and "formula" that this album does. If we're calling it that. The latest MO album is very much in the same "formula/one note" as this album. That's part of the theme and style of those albums. Most of the changes come in the melodies and vocal inflection.

 

I picked up some dunkin and I’m going for a walk, let’s do this.

 

I think both their newest records definitely divert a little more than that. I don't exactly just mean verse-chorus-verse-chrous-bridge-chorus "structure/formula". Like, half of Turn Out The Lights just end with here strumming hard and belting. It sounds great and is effective but I don't know, this is only from a couple listens, but it does feel slightly repetitive. Maybe I won't care as much the more I get used to the songs but yeah.

 

Heh, so do most of Brand New's songs. That's what I'm saying.

 

If anything TOTL has more variety than Sprained Ankle.

 

Ehh, SciFi definitely does more than that. Obviously nothing revolutionary, but it ends with coda's, instrumental outros, restating the intro, and then 3rd/4th choruses. It's not just ending with a big bridge each time. I'm just asking for a little more variety. Not the world. And I do agree to a point, it's not like Brand New is the best example of variety to begin with. They are hard Nirvana/Pixies devotees.

 

and love Modest Mouse. I'm not feeling well. Are people comparing a solo artist to bands?! (Maybe it's my medicine)

 

Not like strictly comparing, Jason just brought up BN and MO to compare song structure and stuff. Regardless of solo or not they all are kind of using the same basic tools and ideas to write songs.

 

From a distance, light from stars
Entry wounds or puncture marks
Leaking from Your arms through the
Perforated dark

I mean. Seriously.

 

Finished my third listen. Early favorites are Shadow Boxing, Happy To Be Here, and Hurt Less.

 

this record is more diverse than sprained ankle in literally every single way. I'm not saying it's better (it is) but the songwriting and arrangements are definitely more advanced. and for a 2nd LP that's really all you can hope for. it's the 3rd & 4th records when artists show you what they're really made of. it's those records that separate good artists from great ones. I'm thinking of stuff like OK Computer and TDAG, Boxer, Transatlanticism, Goodness, Stage Four, etc. I think this record really shows us that Julian is well on her way to being one of those artists. I personally can't wait to go with her on that journey.

 

Yeah, she 100% levelled up here: more varied instrumentation and harmonies, more recurring lyrical motifs between songs, cyclical structure, lyrical parallels to the last album that tell a story of continuing growth. And her voice is a monster. She could probably do an a cappella tour if she wanted.

So I intellectually agree with your song structure criticisms, but also nahhhh who cares.

 

I think it's fair to say you're also more likely to notice it when the instrumentation differs less drastically. "In The Water" and "Waste" have relatively similar structure (I/V/PC/C/I/V/PC/C/word-repetitive B/C), but not too many people are going to call them out.