JULIEN BAKER’s BRILLIANCE
‘Little Oblivions’ Confronts Our Humanity
Julien Baker rules the world of heartbreaking indie rock. The release of her latest album, Little Oblivions, only confirms what we already suspected.
The 25-year-old broke onto the scene in 2015 with her stunning debut, Sprained Ankle. She immediately established herself as a leading voice of her genre with her talent for playing guitar and writing profoundly personal and painfully emotional songs.
Since then, she’s teamed up with fellow alt-rock rising stars Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus to form the band Boygenius and has released more solo music. With each new song, she’s establishing herself as a once-in-a-generation songwriter/musician.
Baker’s latest release Little Oblivions dropped in late February. Fans and critics are celebrating it, and it is a significant departure from Baker’s usual acoustic guitar style. Little Oblivions is bigger and better.
On this record, Baker’s music evolved from strictly stripped-down indie folk to a full band sound. Yet somehow, she’s preserved her delicate nature that we love. Baker herself played every instrument on the album. That includes guitar, drums, bass, keyboard, mandolin, and banjo.
Lyrically, Little Oblivions is an emotional gut-punch in the best way. As previously explained, we already knew Baker had a talent for making us feel heartbroken. But this album elevates emotions and takes them to the next level. With every song, we look ourselves in the eye and confront how we feel about our triumphs and shortcomings.
The first three songs of the album are killers. “Hardlines” is a deeply personal and introspective tune, and “Heatwave” paints dark, beautiful imagery against a backdrop of groovy indie rock. “Faith Healer” inspires an almost euphoric feeling but leaves an unfortunate aftertaste.”
Our favorites also include “Crying Wolf,” an unusual piano-led ballad that sounds and feels like a good cry. Last but not least is “Favor.” The layered vocals are vulnerable and authentic and feature some of our favorite lyrics. “How come it’s so much easier / with anything less than human / letting yourself be tender?”
