September 21st Julien Baker will be performing at the Pygmalion Festival here in Champaign-Urbana. Baker hails from Memphis Tennessee, and first released an EP in 2015 when she was just 20 years old and a student at Middle Tennessee State. Sprained Ankle was so well received in 2015, it had features in both the New Yorker, and The New York Times
Her music is moving to say the very least. Her voice beckons to any listener, she invites you to delve into the dark places of life, to reflect on sufferings, religion, and love. She incorporates Christian themes into her ruminations on death, loneliness, broken hearts, and self-laceration. Her songs, all would be despair if she had not hope in God, as exemplified in the closing song “Go Home” from her debut Sprained Ankle. She details her in lines such as this one:
“But I know you’re still listening to see if I sleep or I pierce my skin”
When the narrative seems farthest from positivity, she closes the song with an instrumental from the Christian pop song “In Christ Alone” by Stuart Townsend and Keith Getty. For Baker, the lyrics from “In Christ Alone” provide hope in the face of utter destruction.
In Christ alone my hope is found
He is my light, my strength, my song
This Cornerstone, this solid ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm
What heights of love, what depths of peace
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease
My Comforter, my All in All
Here in the love of Christ I stand
So if you are looking for some good emo indie rock songs to check out at Pygmalion, do not hesitate to check out Julien Baker on the 21st at the Krannert Center. Surely it will not be a show to forget.
Here is a link to buy tickets for Pygmalion. https://www.ticketfly.com/purchase/event/1514551
