Julien Baker & TORRES Send A Prayer My Way
Not every artist has the bona fides for a mid-career country album (though it may seem like just about everyone has tried). But when I heard that one of my favorite musicians, Julien Baker, was going to be part of a country project with indie rocker TORRES, it rang true to me. Baker has gone from moody, introspective indie artist to power trio boygenius, while also writing damn good songs and continuing to be one of the best guitar players out there. She can do it all (and it doesn’t hurt that she’s from the Nashville area). Most importantly, though – she and TORRES (aka Mackenzie Scott) have fully committed to the bit. And I don’t just mean dressing up in fringe jackets and sparkly cowboy hats. They’ve focused on writing (again, because it’s important) damn good songs from a left-of-center outlaw perspective, surrounding themselves with excellent musicians and production staff (surely not coincidentally, overwhelmingly female). Bottom line – Send A Prayer My Way isn’t a matter of two indie musicians engaging in country cosplaying – it’s good storytelling, which is what country music does best.
The ethos of this record, and this pairing, is evident from the first moments of opening track “Dirt” – relatively traditional country instrumentation (acoustic guitar, pedal steel and fiddle), matched here with Baker’s road weary lyrics about fighting – “I said ‘what the hell you gotta scream at me for’/You said ‘you aren’t gonna listen any other way’” – and surviving – “Spend your whole life gettin’ clean/Just to wind up in the dirt,” all finished off with some lovely electric guitar work from Baker. The next tune, country ambler “The Only Marble I’ve Got Left,” has TORRES challenging Baker – “If you get a taste for trouble/Any given afternoon /It won’t be me reining you in /Oh, ‘cause I like trouble too” – before the pair share pretty harmonies. That feist also appears in the drinker’s lament “Bottom of a Bottle,” with TORRES throwing hands right off the bat – “I care too much for my own good/I’ve got a dog in each and every fight”
That fight, though, is necessary for these two. Baker and TORRES, who both identify as queer, gain their “outlaw” cred (because, unfortunately, making your own choices is still an outlaw move in 2025) by writing very matter-of-factly (and beautifully) about their lives. “Tuesday,” led by TORRES, is a dreamy, meandering, doomed-love song which has the singer, years later, finding comfort in her own being – “And now I know that your shame was not mine/And I am perfect in my Lord’s eyes” – while still more than ready to throw down – “And one more thing, if you hear this song/Tell your mama she can go suck an egg.” “Showdown” will please fans of Baker’s early solo work – moody guitar paired with cold, hard truth: “That it can’t get much worse depends on who you’re asking.” And lead single “Sugar in the Tank” is the kind of unabashed, weak-in-the-knees song we don’t get enough of. Chugging along with Baker’s banjo, the pair celebrates love – ANY love – no matter the odds: “I love you all the ways that I know how /Been wrong too many times to count.” It’s identifiable for any of us who’ve loved, fucked up and lost, only to try again.
Song I Can’t Wait to Hear Live: “Tape Runs Out” – led by J.R. Bohannon’s pedal steel and spotlighting Aisha Burns’ fiddle, the song tries to pick at loose threads from a lost night – “I never met a sin I’m above tryin’/If you need convincing I got plenty proof” – without completely blowing up something that might turn out to be pretty good.
Send A Prayer My Way was produced by Julien Baker and Mackenzie Scott (additional production by Sarah Tudzin), mixed by Trina Shoemaker, engineered by Tudzin and Gory Smelley and mastered by Heba Kadry. All songs written by Julien Rose Baker and Mackenzie Ruth Scott. Musicians on the album include Baker (guitar, vocals, piano, Rhodes, banjo, mandolin, Dobro), Scott (guitar, vocals, piano), Sarah Jaffe (bass guitar), J.R. Bohannon (pedal steel, Dobro, guitar), Aisha Burns (fiddle/violin), Zöe Brecher (drums), Sarah Tudzin (drums) and Sarah Goldstone (piano, Hammond).
Go here to order Send A Prayer My Way (out April 18): https://kf-merch.com/collections/julien-baker-torres
Check out tour dates here: https://julienbakerandtorres.com/
Enjoy our previous coverage here: Show Review: Julien Baker at Thalia Hall Sept 24