It’s rare for me to listen to an artist and know that my life is going to be changed by their art. I know that’s a heavy statement, but in the case of your music it became very, very true. I found out about your music through a reddit post in 2019. I saw someone post the album cover to Sprained Ankle and I was fascinated by the album cover. It was so simple, it reminded me of George Harrison’s “All Things Must Pass” with just the artist on the cover. It wasn’t a grand statement, yet, at the same time, it was. It looked so raw, and your expression was pained, yet hopeful. I debated on whether I wanted to listen to it for a few days, and eventually I dove in.
At first list, I didn’t like it. I came from a world of rock and metal, ironically, a world quite similar to what you come from, yet I couldn’t get along with these tracks that were soaked in reverb, that were only 2 or 3 instruments, and very sparse. It didn’t click. After my first listen, the only track I liked was ‘Everybody Does”. I revisited the album a few weeks later and sat down with the lyrics this time, a practice I follow to this day because of this album, and suddenly it clicked. It is worth pointing out that at this time, my mental health was at an all time low, and your music became a slight reflection of my inner thoughts. While we experienced different things, I related to the emotions that she was being haunted by. I eventually would go on to listen to “Turn Out The Lights”, my favorite project of yours, and I immediately became a massive fan.
Quite simply speaking, had I not found your music, I wouldn’t be writing this letter. Your music explained to me that there are better days, and that it’s okay to feel the way you feel. Not every day is sunshine and roses. From a poetry perspective, your art tickles the part of my brain that grew up listening to post hardcore and metalcore music, genres I still listen to. Your lyrics in “Shadowboxing”, “Everybody Does” and “Televangelist” remind me of how I felt the first time I heard Atreyu’s “Demonology and Heartache”. It was as if someone walked into my heart, collected all my thoughts, and organized them into coherent lyrics and sang them. You inspired me to write my album and made me confident in the fact that I could write songs. You were the first concert I went to alone, and you made it such a beautiful experience. It was emotional, energetic, and exciting.
From a musical standpoint, you taught me minimalism. You taught me it was okay to not use nerdy jazz chords, if I didn’t want to, and that vocals, lyricism and a guitar track acting almost as both a rhythmic hi hat, and a harmonic foundation could carry a song through on its own. I’m sure you’d tell me that you got it from ‘Insert Artist Name Here’, and that THEY got it from ‘Insert their idol here’, but I got it from you. Being vulnerable in your art is never easy, and you constantly do it, so thank you. Thank you for releasing 3+ projects as Julien Baker, 2 projects as Boygenius, a couple under various bands, and thank you for sharing your art in this world. It made a difference.
Memories In Wax 
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