Today a new single has been released by American musician Julien Baker. You might know Baker from her recent solo project, Sprained Ankle, or her previous band, Forrister. The new song is titled, “Turn Out The Lights,” and is a single from her forthcoming album of the same name.
This ghostly song and video follows Baker through rural scenes, walking through forests and a barn. Eventually, she follows a fuse to a piano engulfed in flames. This story arc is particularly interesting when considering her background. Baker grew up in Bluff City, TN – a town of 1,733 people about 2 hours from Knoxville. She then attended Middle Tennesse State University for a while before dropping out to tour full-time. “Turn Out The Lights” lyrics depict isolation and confusion. “Can I turn out the lights? There’s no one left between myself and me.”
“Turn Out The Lights” follows similarly ghostly video, “Appointments,” which was the first single off of Turn Out The Lights. When speaking about the tape, Baker said “The record’s less just about a single person’s journey through feeling or coping with mental health,” she says, “and more about how, [in spite] of those afflictions or challenges that every person encounters … trying to advertise the capacity for empathy.”
As of now, Baker is on the road. She’ll begin a tour leg tomorrow taking her across US and Europe, playing 41 shows before the end of the year. In an interview with Rolling Stone, She compared herself to Frodo Baggins’ character in Lord of the Rings, “in a constant state of transit.”
Turn Out The Lights will be available October 27th, 2017. It can be preordered here, alongside variety of merch and concert tickets. While sold out now, special edition vinyl’s with splatter paint were available for a short period.
Photo Credit: Kalyn Oyer
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