Julien Baker made waves in the indie music scene when she released her tender 2015 debut album Sprained Ankle. The singer continued her momentum with her 2017 sophomore LP before joining her contemporaries Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus to form the trio Boygenius. But last week, Baker returned to deliver another solo album, the polished effort Little Oblivions. Celebrating its release, Baker brought one of her introspective tracks to a performance on Late Night With Seth Meyers.
Showcasing the radical honesty in her songwriting, Baker was joined by a full band for a performance of “Hardline.” The song opens with atmospheric synths before Baker gently delivers a reflection on her sobriety. “Blacked out on a weekday / is there something that I’m trying to avoid?” she sings.
Speaking in an interview with Uproxx, Baker discussed her vulnerability on Little Oblivions and how she nearly decided to quit making music altogether:
“I don’t know what it is about myself, but I always think every record is going to do really poorly, and I just operate under that assumption. So, I was like, ‘I’m going to make a really weird record that I wouldn’t have made because I would have been scared to jeopardize my career as a musician.’ When I went back to school and realized that everything could go away and I would still be alive and be making music, I think it became easier for me to do things without those high-stakes fears.”
Watch Baker perform “Hardline” on Late Night above.
Little Oblivions is out now via Matador. Get it here.
