Little Oblivions
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CRITIC REVIEWS
100
A towering achievement, Little Oblivions is devastatingly beautiful, a painful at times but still engrossing listen that doesn’t let the singer or her listeners off easily, instead pulling us along with her in her wake.
100
Little Oblivions is a huge leap forward for Baker.
100
With Little Oblivions, the singer-songwriter has made her most cohesive record yet. The resuscitation of a heavier sound works in Baker’s favor, while she still adds hints of the fragile gentleness that has captivated fans since her Sprained Ankle days.
92
Even with booming guitars, pounding drums and soaring instrumentals, Little Oblivions feels just as intimate as Baker’s more, well, intimate albums.
91
Little Oblivions does not uncover any secrets toward forgiveness or redemption, but despite having endless questions, Baker never sounds hopeless.
90
The Tennessee songwriter has built a catalogue of songs that explore the range of coloured bruises, grey zones, and emotional fractures sustained across a lifetime, observed up close in painful detail. On her third album, the view has swung from microcosm to breathtaking panorama.
90
Little Oblivions is generous and giving; it's not only a public display of personal catharsis, but also an act of collective commiseration and an invitation to heal.
90
A soundtrack for those searching for hope in difficult times, particularly when the wider world has removed easy distraction from the pain.
90
Ultimately, her recent period of artistic silence and personal trials results in Julien Baker’s most masterful work to date. The expanded sonic palette reimagines the possibilities of her music and makes for Baker’s most dynamic work yet.
85
Blossoming her one-woman show into an overwhelming soundscape of loops and effects, Baker nonetheless remains one of the most lyrically direct and bracing acts in modern music.
84
If your heart was won by Julien Baker following the release of Sprained Ankle in 2015, as long as you're open to changes in instrumentation, you will not be disappointed by Little Oblivions.
82
On Little Oblivions, she's taken the spaces in her music that used to be empty and filled them with churning, beautiful noise.
80
The writing here is bleak, self-excoriating and largely excellent.
80
Filled with bolder musical choices, Little Oblivions reveals a mature, full-fledged sound that takes Baker from intimate club gig to – dare we say it? – the stadium.
80
This is sensitive, heartfelt and resolute rock music that shuffles its feet while looking at the stars.
80
On Little Oblivions, forensic self-examination is still a major element ... but the music is a whole new experience.
80
Little Oblivions ... presents a richer, fuller manifestation of her talents.
80
A fully realized artistic statement without a skippable track, even if a few songs trail off a bit toward the end — almost as if Baker knows the rush of cathartic energy has left everyone involved a little exhausted, including herself.
80
With Little Oblivions, Baker upgrades her erstwhile folk style to accommodate a harder rock approach, though lyrically she’s as vulnerable as ever.
80
Little Oblivions shows she made the right call by stepping away to focus on herself and coming back stronger and more surefooted than before.
80
Julien Baker's third album, Little Oblivions, is a record of often intense, sometimes perilously dark, self-reflection.
80
Everything on Little Oblivions will make you feel, and it’s the catharsis we all need.
80
This album is an absolute triumph of storytelling and self-reflection which is made for small rooms to flood with tears upon hearing it.
80
As the long-awaited follow up to ‘Turn Out the Lights’, this album feels desperate to not retread old ground.
80
Unlike her earlier work, the Tennessee musician's third album features a full band, taking her anguished stories to greater heights.
76
On her third album, Julien Baker’s self-lacerating storytelling gets a more expansive canvas to work with. The big, full-band sound makes all the small moments of pain surreptitiously devastating.
70
Little Oblivions leaves questions unanswered and epiphanies freshly discovered and displays the beautiful moments the ugly times keep quietly hidden.
70
The Tennessee indie songwriter rewrites the book on her third record, adding drums and embracing turmoil.
70
In widening her sonic palette ... Julien Baker has given herself more scope for welcome emotional catharsis.
70
In Oblivions, Baker has undeniably tapped into her unexplored potential—though there's also a nagging sense that these changes feel like a lateral move and not a progression.
70
Despite the bigger sound on average ... Baker's brutal lyrical authenticity remains the main attraction.
66
Little Oblivions doesn’t so much feel like a step to a higher point as so much as a stumble that Baker has made to look as graceful as she can.
60
The overall tone conveys something beyond Baker’s previous records, and sketches out an intriguing template for future work.
60
Little Oblivions is the sound of somebody who has been on high emotional alert for so long their batteries are starting to run down: agitated but exhausted, a little fuzzy at the edges.
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2y
40
Though it boasts a grander sound than Baker's past work, Little Oblivions is laden with unremarkable indie-isms.
Approaching a new Indie Rock aesthetic and releasing a more diverse and elaborate instrumentation, Little Oblivions sounds like a new, more pop turn for Julien Baker. In spite of the limits, she can always count on her particularly harrowing and hard-hitting writing.
Soon only 25 years old, Julien Baker has built a formidable career, especially because she started early, officially after she turned 18 and unofficially long before that with her first band The Star Killers. Marked by a rather ... read more
I've been extremely excited for this album to come out. Every single was so damn great, and this didn't disappoint.
Julien Baker is, honestly, someone that i have mever listened to before this album has released, and the first time i've heard her was probably through "Hardline" and the other promotional singles leading up to this release. Time really passed so fast, it feels like yesterday when i've seen it getting announced for 26th and. Sheesh. My birthday was yesterday and now ... read more
something about me and Julien Baker is incompatible, buuuuut I liked this a lot more than other songs I've heard of hers so maybe, upon relisten, I will eventually be able to fill the boygenius stan gauntlet. maybe.
“Little Oblivions” is definitely one of the least engaging indie cuts to come out of Julien Baker's discography.
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Track List
| 1 | Hardline 3:51 | 90 |
| 2 | Heatwave 2:44 | 87 |
| 3 | Faith Healer 2:54 | 88 |
| 4 | Relative Fiction 4:19 | 82 |
| 5 | Crying Wolf 3:29 | 78 |
| 6 | Bloodshot 3:47 | 80 |
| 7 | Ringside 4:00 | 85 |
| 8 | Favor 4:38 | 84 |
| 9 | Song in E 2:44 | 83 |
| 10 | Repeat 2:55 | 80 |
| 11 | Highlight Reel 3:36 | 82 |
| 12 | Ziptie 3:42 | 78 |
Total Length: 42 minutes
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2y
Fantano does another one of his "right critique, wrong target" reviews. I think he gets confused and can't remember clearly who he is talking about.
2y
"No, when fantano drops a bad rating, an user score doesn't drop". My ass. Minus 2 pts. In aoty, there was a time where user score was very accurate about the album quality.
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Added on: October 21, 2020