Name: Sprained Ankle
Brand: Julien Baker

Bonus disc

Bonus disc: No

Catalogue number

OLE11198

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Colour

Colour details

Discogs ID

Format multiplier

Download code

Download code: No

Rough Trade Exclusive

Rough Trade Exclusive: No

Extended format

Extended format: Yes

Format detail

Vinyl Repress.

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Format Music GB

Limited edition

Release date

2019-03-22

Signed copies

Signed copies: No

Supplier GB

PIAS

Tax rate GB

Standard:20

UPC / Barcode

0744861111986

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Total Cap

1 / Extended format: Yes / LP / Rough Trade Exclusive: No / Signed copies: No

Artist

Julien Baker

Genre GB

Singer Songwriter

Label GB

Matador

Julien Baker is a talented musician hailing from Memphis, TN. With her heartfelt lyrics and hauntingly beautiful melodies, she has captivated audiences worldwide. Julien's music explores themes of love, loss, and self-discovery, resonating with listeners on a deep emotional level.
Born and raised in Tennessee, Julien began playing guitar at a young age and quickly developed a passion for songwriting. Her raw and honest approach to music has garnered critical acclaim and a dedicated fanbase.
Known for her powerful live performances, Julien's shows are intimate experiences that leave audiences spellbound. Whether performing solo or with her band, she effortlessly connects with the crowd through her soul-stirring vocals and vulnerable stage presence.

U.S. independent label based in NYC; for company roles and copyrights please consider [l390562] for the USA, [l=Matador Records Ltd.] for the UK company division and the generic company profile relating to either legal entities [l=Matador Records (2)] 
[b]Note that while some Matador releases are exclusive to North America or Europe, they use one numbering system for all releases, so it is not necessary to enter them under separate labels.[/b]

The Matador label began in 1989 when [a=Chris Lombardi] dragged the Austrian duo H.P. Zinker into Wharton Tiers’ Fun City studio to record OLE-001, ...and there was light. Run out of Chris’ New York apartment, Lombardi added artists such as the Dustdevils, Railroad Jerk and Superchunk to the initial roster. Joined by longtime Homestead Records manager Gerard Cosloy in 1990, Matador experienced its first taste of crazed media attention & big sales with the North American release of Teenage Fanclub’s debut long-player, A Catholic Education. Over the years, the label has moved from shoebox sized offices to larger and larger complexes, the staff has grown from 2 to 24, and the roster has simply exploded. As well as functioning as the North American home to Pavement, Liz Phair and The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Matador has helped artists such as Yo La Tengo, Cat Power, Cornelius, Solex, Pizzicato Five, Helium and the Arsonists reach audiences worldwide.

Matador has also served as the North American licensee for a number of exceptional international acts, including Belle & Sebastian, Mogwai, Boards of Canada, Red Snapper, Arab Strap and others. Since 1996, Matador has maintained separate offices and staff in London. In addition to supervising the promotion, sales and marketing of Matador titles on the continent, Matador Europe has also licensed recordings from some of North America’s most acclaimed new artists, M. Ward, Sleater-Kinney, Modest Mouse, and Superchunk to name a few.

While Matador has often been characterized (not by the label itself) as an underground or "indie" rock label, over the years, the label’s musical direction has grown, to the point where many hip hop, electronic and experimental acts play as prominent a role in the label’s sound & future as any number of singer/songwriters and rock bands. Sometimes all of the above converge.

During the 1990s, Matador entered into partnerships with [l=Atlantic] and [l=Capitol Records]. In 1999, Lombardi & Cosloy purchased back Capitol's 49% share of the label, and in 2002, [l613604] purchased 50% of the legal entities behind the Matador label / imprint [l390562] and [l291335] and took over Matador's worldwide marketing.

Back In Stock

Memphis, TN-based songwriter Julien Baker is the latest addition to the Matador Records roster. The 21-year-old’s devastating and vulnerable debut album, Sprained Ankle, which was originally released in 2015 and now gets re-released by Matador. The album was recorded at Spacebomb Studios, though Julien's songs don’t share the down-home gloss of the other albums produced there. Instead of beefing up her honest tunes with rich layering like Natalie Prass or Matthew E. White, Baker pares her songs down to their simplest possible format: alone, singing and playing acoustic guitar directly into the microphone, sometimes in a single take. That decision resulted in a remarkable record, one full of beautiful, personal explorations revealed in stark intimacy. That choice makes a lot of sense for Baker’s voice, both in the literal and figurative sense. Rather than Prass’ sweet, soaring tones or White’s blue-eyed soul, Sprained Ankle is delivered in reedy whispers and chilled coos. Released just before she turned 20 years old, the record still sounds raw - not that her voice lacks control or power, but rather that the weariness of songs about death, breakups, and existential questioning are sung with incredible presence. They’re coming of age songs from someone still coming of age, the wounds still fresh, the big truths currently being revealed. There are the struggles of depression, drugs, loneliness, but the clear-eyed way she faces it all supersedes any platitude.

Sprained Ankle

Music GB

Buy Julien Baker - Sprained Ankle (Vinyl, CD) now from Rough Trade - independent purveyors of great music, since 1976.