Julien Baker’s solo debut, Sprained Ankle, was one of the most widely hailed works of 2015. Recorded by an 18-year-old and her friend in only a few days the album appeared on year-end lists everywhere from NPR Music to New York Magazine’s Vulture. With Turn Out the Lights, Julien Baker returns to a bigger stage, but with the same core of breathtaking vulnerability and resilience.

From its opening moments — when her chiming, evocative melody is accompanied by swells of strings — Turn Out the Lights throws open the doors to the world without sacrificing the intimacy that has become a hallmark of her songs.The album was recorded at the legendary Ardent Studios in her hometown of Memphis, TN, and mixed by Craig Silvey (The National, Arcade Fire). This evolution from ‘Sprained Ankle’s intentionally spare production allows Baker — who is still the album’s sole producer and writer — greater scope and freedom. Strings and woodwinds now shade the corners of her compositions, and Baker takes to piano rather than guitar on several tracks, pushing the 21-year-olds work to cinematic heights of intensity.

Track Listing: 
01. Over
02. Appointments
03. Turn Out the Lights
04. Shadowboxing
05. Sour Breath
06. Televangelist
07. Everything That Helps You Sleep
08. Happy to Be Here
09. Hurt Less
10. Even
11. Claws In Your Back