Turn Out the Lights
A devastatingly intimate collection of slowcore and indie rock, built on cavernous electric guitar, stark piano, and raw, throat-shredding vocal climaxes.
A devastatingly intimate collection of slowcore and indie rock, built on cavernous electric guitar, stark piano, and raw, throat-shredding vocal climaxes.
Expanded canvas
A cavernous, high-ceilinged resonance expands the sonic frame of this second album, introducing delicate chamber strings and a satin-finish production to what was once a solitary guitar-and-voice canvas. The starkness remains, but the songs now build into massive, cathartic crescendos where a single voice pushes to its physical limit against swelling arrangements.
Unfiltered belting takes center stage here, transforming the quietest confessions into towering, throat-shredding climaxes that push the vocal delivery to its absolute physical limit.
Critics warmly received the album for its candid, unfiltered look at emotional pain, praising how the stripped-back arrangements of guitar, piano, and vocals create a deeply authentic atmosphere. While some noted the challenging nature of its heavy themes, reviewers broadly admired the songwriting for its defiant spirit and enduring emotional resonance.
“Though sometimes it teeters on hammy sentimentality, the bulk of Turn Out the Lights portrays an artist who could move towards serious commercial viability”
“Centering on her voice, guitar, and piano, Baker begins to sound defiant”Read review
“A record bursting with artistic emotion and vulnerable resilience”Read review
“Julien Baker’s voice is immediately striking in its ability to convey emotion so well it’s as if she’s really feeling it all right at the moment of recording”Read review
“Her guitar and piano now come with string arrangements and a big, satin-finish production, which takes baby steps towards a mainstream audience, although perhaps some of her magical fragility is being lost”Read review
“Far from a happy album, but my word, it is riddled with joy”Read review
“Baker doesn’t just make you feel, she makes it feel real. Very, very real”Read review
“Beautifully crafted throughout, full of the kinds of songs that linger long after they’ve ended. Baker doesn’t make it easy, but fans wouldn’t have it any other way”Read review
“Baker is careful not to glorify life’s darkest moments, and certainly doesn’t on Turn Out the Lights. Rather, her candid portrayal of pain is a rare and beautiful gift”Read review
“Baker is writing faultless songs that will always have a home in our hearts”Read review
“Cathartic and wrecked, Turn Out the Lights is the type of album that will be uncommonly relatable to some and unbearable to others”Read review
“A rich, moving work that reminds us that even the little victories are worth embracing”Read review
Cassette uses generative AI to enrich its catalog. How we use AI →
