I remember reading one of the many "best records of..." articles on some website and I was going through and pulling up the links to the ones that sounded most intriguing. Well, Julien Baker's Sprained Ankle was one of them and is my favorite record I looked up on that list. I now because I still have them all written down. I listen to this record at least once a day. It's incredible.
"Blacktop" is is beautiful and haunting. I love the chorus part where Julien's voice and the guitar she plays follows this same run of notes. It's so nice. The simplicity of the recording is wonderful. It's just her and her guitar. The recording has this echo to it like she's in this room and you're chilling and it's so rad!
"Sprained Ankle" is the first song I heard on the record and I did so by watching the music video which is pretty cool. The first line of this song is so heavy and hits hard. There is this elaborate simplicity to these songs. They are so intricate and so so deep but there is this great minimalist quality. They aren't overproduced. Everything rules. Man I am repetitive, haha. Get used to it.
"Brittle Boned" has this great swelling quality where we start with this guitar plucking and then this second guitar comes in with an Explosions In The Sky echo thing going on. Later there is this part where the echo guitar goes away real quick and her voice is almost alone and I get wicked feels. Then there is this double voice thing where she is harmonizing with herself and this simple bass kick or floor tom thumps away followed by some choice cymbal hits and more fast passed strumming in that same EITS vein. This is one of my favorites as you can see by my run on sentences.
"Everybody Does" is more upbeat than most of these songs but that doesn't mean it's not hard hitting and sad. But so beautiful in a tragic way. This whole record gets me right in the feels, man. Julien, you kill me. In a good way. This one is short so play it a few times.
"Good News" is another perfect example of how great her voice is. It's like unsure and painful and so full but at the same time so vulnerable, Fuck commas. Haha. I can relate with this song so much. That feeling where someone's opinion matters when you don't want it to. And it shouldn't anyways. Shit.
"Something" is another one of my favorites. I watched a live video where she played it acoustic in some parking garage and it was so damn good. Another song I relate to, and I;m sure you do. "I can't think of anyone else." Tell me about it. Damn. The feels again. This song is perfection. The guitar and the vocals. "The ringing in my ears taste's like blood." "I thought I meant something." Man, I'm getting goosebumps from this one.
"Rejoice" has so real depth to it. She goes pretty hard in the second half of the song. There is a call to a god and a lot of unanswered questions and non-response. It's vulnerable, honest, and inspiring to say the least. Song writing at the top tier. This record blows me away.
"Vessels" is another really beautiful but haunting song. I've watched some live videos of this too and I fall into a trance. There are these great ambient guitar parts with some great tom work and again I get great EITS vibes. It's swelling, and so real and honest. There is so much depth beneath these songs. So many stories. So much.
"Go Home" is my favorite track and the closer. I really have no other words for this song. You really just need to hear it. Real. Honest. Vulnerable, Deep. Beautiful. The piano though. Oh man. And the last verse. I get full blown chills. I think I shed a tear the first time I heard this one. No shit. Swear. Full blown emotional train wreck. "I know my body is just dirty clothes."
This album is my favorite thing right now.
Thankful.
Get the record from 6131 Records.
Stream it here.
Julien Baker started her East Coast tour yesterday.
I'll be at the Boston show! You need to fucking go!
