“It’s the Mercy I Can’t Take” — A Review of Julien Baker’s LITTLE OBLIVIONS

Julien Baker has taken me to church.

A few months ago “Faith Healer” dropped as a single and I was beyond excited for the upcoming release of her new album. A thumping and new sounding Baker song that had a drum track in it — I was surprised. Arriving in time for my jump into sobriety, “Faith Healer” looked to examine addiction. I thought this was a one-off, thematically, until “Hardline” came out a month later and it was apparent that Julien had relapsed and was struggling to come up for air again.

Baker, for as long as I had been listening to her, has been a sober figure in the alternative world. Not only that but she also spoke a lot about her queerness and her faith. Baker has presented these ideas in her previous 2 albums but “Little Oblivions” looked to dive deeper into a darkness that I also bathed in for some years.

I discovered Baker several years ago around the time “Turn Out the Lights” came out — her sophomore album. I was immediately attracted to Baker’s voice and her control over it. Her songs were sparse instrumentally but she sang the hell out of each track with vulnerable and emotional lyrics. These weren’t songs you played to groove to — these were made for you to sit in your feelings with.