The subreddit Indieheads is having a discussion regarding the album for anyone interested: [Poll] Indieheads Review: Julien Baker - Turn Out the Lights • r/indieheads
Some interesting discussion. Although I think calling TOTL "overproduced" or "mainstream" is pretty laughable, I agree with a lot of the favorable comparisons of Sprained Ankle over TOTL. There's something so uniquely haunting about Sprained Ankle right down to the artwork that's missing from TOTL for me.
"I felt like the mainstream success took a tole on the songwriting of this record. It felt to me like she was trying too hard to relate to a large audience by expressing conscience messages rather than following her natural sense of poetry." huh I could not disagree with this more
Yeah, same here. I love how much integrity and rawness she preserved on the new album considering how much of a wider audience she has now.
I never even thought of SA’s album art as being anything other than just a photo that was taken and decided to be used but now that you mention it, I can see the haunting quality of it.
The artwork caught my eye before I even listened to the music. It looked so ordinary at first but the weary expression on Julien's face made it look just slightly off. Then I listened to the songs and the artwork suddenly looked a lot more haunting and sad.
Anyone up for a bracket now that we have a solid amount of songs? We can include the non-album songs too (Red Door, Decorated Lawns). I can lead if there’s interest. Say, get 10 likes on this and I’ll start it.
Just drove past the Fox Theater in Boulder and saw JULIEN BAKER on the bill for tomorrow night. Hell yes. Had no idea, but I’m hitting that up for sure now.
Every time I try to listen to this, I get emotionally exhausted like 4 songs in. I just can't get properly into it.
If this was last year I'd agree and I might agree this year, but then there's Manchester Orchestra, Paramore, '68, Jeremy Enigk, and Lorde and I don't know what to do.
This one didn't stick with me as much as Sprained Ankle. But with that being said, a lot of great albums came out this year so I haven't been able to really sit with any of them long enough.
I'm basically just cross-posting from The Amulet thread, but when I met Julien in October, I was wearing a Circa Survive shirt, and the first thing she said when I walked up to her was, "I love your Circa Survive shirt!" Last night I saw and met Circa, and I was wearing a Julien Baker shirt. Anthony Green told me she is one of his favorites and he loved the shirt. I then told him about when I met Julien, and he said that made his day. It's cool as hell to see my two favorite artists openly supporting one another like that.
You need to give this more time for sure! This blows Sprained Ankle out of the water, and I love that record!
I love this album but it hits way too close to home and was released at the worst possible time of year for me. (Depression + seasonal affective disorder that kicks in in late October every year + this record? Yikes.) Dammit Julien, you really understand what it's like to live with mental illness. The lyrics on this record on their own break me in half - I got the LP today (on clear wax!) and finally looked at the lyric sheet & was just like... fuck. It's unbearably sad and I can relate to it so hard it's almost physically painful to listen to.