Review: Julien Baker, The Lantern

A self-identified gay, Christian singer-songwriter from Tennessee may sound like the punchline to a particularly poor joke but Julien Baker, aforesaid self-identified, gay, Christian singer-songwriter is definitely not considered a joke. Her self-released debut album Sprained Ankle was a fixture on ‘best of’ lists, with online hipster music Bible Pitchfork amongst others taking notice. Then she subsequently opened shows for indie royalty including Death Cab for Cutie, Conor Oberst and The Decemberists.

Though can she cut it on a cold, dank, November night in Bristol, after a year’s worth of feted festival appearances and touring? In short yes; because she happens to be packing new album on prolific label Matador, Turn Out The Lights which has also been receiving rave reviews.

As could opening artist Bristol based She Makes War. Performing solo, her sometimes politically conscious, sometimes romantic and sometimes both, set was very warmly received by the appreciative crowd. The majority of the songs were just vocals and ukulele or guitar expertly looped to create at times an epic, at times a choral sound. The exception to this was recent single I Want My Country Back which flips right wing clichés and can’t to good effect backed by furious, rasping guitar riffing and the grungey Devastate Me, one for Pixies and Breeders fans rather than those of Soundgarden and Alice In Chains. The high point of the set was Paper Thin a song recorded as a duet with indie royalty Tanya Donnelly (Throwing Muses, Belly) in 2016. It’s a melancholic track which is surprisingly un-depressing and which enchanted much of the crowd.

Anyone who has listened to Julien Baker’s albums may have been expecting a serious, literary and literate, angst-ridded performance. Unfortunately her ‘dramatic entrance’ (her words) launching instantly into an intense song, was undermined by someone saying, possibly louder than they meant, ‘Oooh, she’s so tiny’ as she walked on stage, much laughter followed, not least from the artist herself. This was a genuinely great start to the gig creating an instant rapport, which was sustained throughout the gig, between her and the large and diverse crowd.

Opening song Appointments had an intro which was reminiscent of Explosions in the Sky’s Your Hand In Mine, all intricate guitar picking underpinning swelling strings and looped guitar building to pounding major chords on the piano which framed Baker’s ethereal, yet strangely powerful vocals perfectly.

This musical style was pretty much the template for the majority of the set it, it could be argued that it was a little pedestrian however the songs were powerful enough to mitigate that. Plus Baker has a greater range than expected, as well as heavy on the echo gentle vocals she can also belt out a primal, rockish line too at the culmination of a song.

Baker’s set was consistently excellent and there were no real lulls in the performance, even when she switched from guitar, loops and additional sonics to just a piano and voice for three or four songs. This consistency was yet another indication that Julien Baker could indeed be the major talent that her record label and critics believe her to be. There were some standout moments however, the title track from the first album Sprained Ankle was greeted by the crowd like an old friend, it’s gentle, yet insistent fingerpicking motifs driving the song towards an intense yet not overblown looped conclusion. Likewise new song Shadowboxing was similarly structured yet seemed more lushly orchestrated without diminishing the sense of intimacy between artist and audience.

The show ended with a stunning version of Turn Out the Lights from her new album, just Julien Baker, her guitar and a superb song which end in a howl of energy and who knows what emotions. And that was it, she thanked the crowd and left the stage, with no encore.

Aside from the astonishingly well written confessional yet not lachrymose or self-pitying lyrics and gorgeous melodies, Julien Baker genuinely connected with her audience, generally when tuning her guitar and realising that she did need to fill that awkward gap between songs.

She was engaging, funny and self-deprecating on stage. Her wit and humour created an interesting dichotomy, when contrasted with the intensity of her heartfelt performance. The audience, whom the majority gave the impression that they knew her work inside out, thought knew what they should be expecting but were not entirely sure if these expectations would be met between songs. This continued throughout the show and made it all the more compelling.