Julien Baker Bravely Confronts Her Traumas and Fears

Julien Baker

Jon Pareles, writing for The New York Times:

“Sprained Ankle,” was a measured cry in the wilderness, a distillation of solitary despair. Just two years later, “Turn Out the Lights” is the work of a songwriter who has resonated with an international audience and who is moving beyond the apocalyptic self-absorption of adolescence. It’s the rare second album that, despite new self-consciousness, stretches beyond an unspoiled debut to reach for even bigger things, with all its passion intact.

“Once we finished recording it, in January, there was a lot of anxiety for me,” Ms. Baker said. “Is it too similar? Is it too different? How can you be afraid of both of those things at the same time?” She laughed. “But I somehow was.”