Julien Baker

Julien Baker

Julien Baker is an American singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist from Memphis, Tennessee. Her work sits across indie folk, folk, indie rock, alternative rock and singer-songwriter music, with an emphasis on acoustic arrangements and intimate, often stark writing.

Solo career

Baker begins her solo recording career with Sprained Ankle, which is first released in 2014 and reissued in 2015. It reaches number 23 on the Billboard Heatseekers Albums chart and helps lead to her signing with Matador Records. Her second album, Turn Out the Lights, follows in 2017. It is self-produced, recorded at Ardent Studios in Memphis, and reaches number 78 on the Billboard 200.

Her third solo album, Little Oblivions, arrives in 2021. It is self-produced and recorded in Memphis, and includes the track “Favor”, which features Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus.

Band work and collaborations

Before and alongside her solo career, Baker plays in her high school band, Forrister, which is previously known as The Star Killers. The band releases the album American Blues in 2013 and a split with Little Moses in 2014, and Baker continues to perform with the group while attending college.

In 2018, Baker co-founds boygenius with Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus. The trio releases its self-titled EP on Matador in 2018. Baker later works with Bridgers and Dacus again on boygenius material written and co-produced by the group.

Style and recognition

Baker’s music is often described as emotionally direct and low-key in sound, and her songs are associated with artists such as Bon Iver, Daughter and Natalie Prass.