Julien Baker, Torres – Send A Prayer My Way

Julien Baker & Torres’ Send a Prayer My Way was written and sung in the best of the outlaw tradition - defiant, subversive, working class, and determined to wrestle not only with addiction, regret and bad decisions, but also with oppressive systems of power. Mercifully, this is only the beginning of the stories Torres and Baker are determined to tell. Because these are also songs about radical empathy and second chances, and third chances, and while there’s plenty of struggle and regret in here, there’s also humor and defiance.

Send a Prayer My Way has been in the works for years. Imagine two young musicians playing their first show together at Lincoln Hall, a much-loved venue here in Chicago. It’s January 15, 2016, and bone chillingly cold outside, especially for a couple of southerners. When the show is over and they’re shooting the shit, one singer says to the other, “We should make a country album.” This is the origin story, the stuff of legend in the world of country music, and the beginning of a collaboration between two artists already admired for their spare, elegant lyrics as well as the courage to share their struggles with those who love their music. It’s also the beginning of creating a work that, like the most enduring country albums, sustains and inspires, reminding both singer and listener that not one of us is ever totally alone in this world, that music is a steady companion.

Reviews

“Two voices tangled in mercy and fire — this is a prayer for the lost that never begs, only burns.”

— The Honest Mixtape

“Feels like a hymn for the ones trying to forgive themselves. Stark, swelling, and deeply human.”

— Under the Wire

“Torres grounds, Julien lifts — together they summon a slow, aching beauty that glows like stained glass in twilight.”

— Magnet South

“You don’t listen to it — you kneel in it. A song that lingers like incense after the last note fades.”

— Altar Pop

“The sonic equivalent of holding someone’s hand in a hospital hallway. Unflinching, tender, true.”

— Soft Static