Albums to watch

Turn Out the Lights

Julien Baker

Turn Out the Lights

Second album of indie dream pop from the 22 year old singer-songwriter from Memphis

ADM rating[?]

8.0

Label
Matador
UK Release date
27/10/2017
US Release date
27/10/2017
  1. 10.0 |   A.V. Club

    Beautifully crafted throughout, full of the kinds of songs that linger long after they’ve ended. Baker doesn’t make it easy, but fans wouldn’t have it any other way
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  2. 10.0 |   No Ripcord

    An immense record that runs a gamut of emotions, from distress to love, anguish to healing
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  3. 9.1 |   Consequence Of Sound

    A rich, moving work that reminds us that even the little victories are worth embracing
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  4. 9.0 |   The 405

    What elevates Turn Out The Lights is that it’s sensory as well as earnest, personally destabilising while artfully assured
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  5. 9.0 |   American Songwriter

    In just two albums, Baker has mapped the human heart with a graceful honesty that most artists spend their entire lives trying to find
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  6. 9.0 |   Under The Radar

    Baker is writing faultless songs that will always have a home in our hearts
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  7. 9.0 |   Exclaim

    Baker is careful not to glorify life's darkest moments, and certainly doesn't on Turn Out the Lights. Rather, her candid portrayal of pain is a rare and beautiful gift
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  8. 8.9 |   Paste Magazine

    Baker doesn’t just make you feel, she makes it feel real. Very, very real
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  9. 8.8 |   Earbuddy

    One of the year's best
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  10. 8.6 |   Pitchfork

    Centering on her voice, guitar, and piano, Baker begins to sound defiant
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  11. 8.3 |   Pretty Much Amazing

    An exciting sophomore effort from an even more exciting artist. While the album isn’t a tremendous leap forward from Sprained Ankle, Baker emerges with her vision and voice more fully formed
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  12. 8.0 |   Spectrum Culture

    Speaks volumes about her self-reflection and sees her reach moments of sublime grace over and over
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  13. 8.0 |   State

    A real exploration of melancholy and devastating self doubt. It can be unrelenting with moments of salvation few and far between. Still, there is undoubted beauty in its sadness
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  14. 8.0 |   Punk News

    A powerful listen, teaching you to live with your failures and fears, and to move from coping with them to actually loving them
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  15. 8.0 |   Drowned In Sound

    Far from a happy album, but my word, it is riddled with joy
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  16. 8.0 |   The Line Of Best Fit

    Julien Baker’s voice is immediately striking in its ability to convey emotion so well it’s as if she’s really feeling it all right at the moment of recording
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  17. 7.8 |   Gig Soup

    One of those rare artists who focuses as much on lyrical poetic quality as on her music
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  18. 7.0 |   All Music

    Cathartic and wrecked, Turn Out the Lights is the type of album that will be uncommonly relatable to some and unbearable to others
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  19. 7.0 |   Clash

    A record bursting with artistic emotion and vulnerable resilience
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  20. 7.0 |   PopMatters

    Though sometimes it teeters on hammy sentimentality, the bulk of Turn Out the Lights portrays an artist who could move towards serious commercial viability
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  21. 6.0 |   The Guardian

    Her guitar and piano now come with string arrangements and a big, satin-finish production, which takes baby steps towards a mainstream audience, although perhaps some of her magical fragility is being lost
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  22. 6.0 |   The Irish Times

    Most accompaniment being piano or guitar and the simple, almost choral melodies there to accentuate Baker’s voice, which can unleash a hurricane of hurt at will
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  23. 6.0 |   Loud And Quiet

    Similar in tone to Waxahatchee, tracks such as ‘Even’ and ‘Happy To Be Here’ are nonetheless given a more over-emotive delivery
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  24. 6.0 |   The Skinny

    The medicinal quality of being alone with Baker’s vocal will still captivate for many. Others may find it too familiar, too close to home
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