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Feb 25, 2022 By Celine Teo-Blockey

Julien Baker is our final guest on Season 2 of the Under the Radar with Celine Teo-Blockey podcast. She discusses the songwriting behind her third album Little Oblivions (released last year on Matador), just how close she came to giving up a career in music after losing her sobriety in 2018, and her misgivings about how she’s handled her quick and unexpected fame after the success of her debut, Sprained Ankle.

“I regret sometimes…having had so much to say really early in my career about God and religion, specifically the Christian religion because I think I was being a little bit flippant. And not taking into consideration the history of queerness that I hadn’t been exposed to,” says the 26-year-old, of her zealousness when it came to her faith over her gender identity.

Having spent so much of her career fiercely delving into heavy themes of addiction and mental health in her songs, it was a breath of fresh air to also hear her reminisce about more innocent times, growing up in Bartlett, a suburb of Memphis, in Tennessee. When she first catches herself indulging in the nostalgia of a particular memory—that feels like “a Bruce Springsteen song”—she laughs, “that sounds so romantic and lame!”

Later in the conversation she is thankful for the opportunity to reflect on the real joys of youth that she was also able to experience. “This work talks a lot about addiction and in a really scathing way, and I’ve historically talked about that so much in my songs,” she says. “I feel like I just regarded the very lost child that was me with so much disdain that I don’t even think at that time I was mature enough to understand how destructive that was.”

This summer Baker will embark on a joint tour, called The Wild Hearts tour, alongside fellow acclaimed singer/songwriters Angel Olsen and Sharon Van Etten. Check out the dates here.

Read our 2017 cover story interview with Baker, along with a bonus Q&A.

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Each monthly episode of Under the Radar features an interview with a different musician conducted by host and producer Celine Teo-Blockey.

Also check our season 2, episode 1, which is our interview with The Flaming Lips’ Wayne Coyne (plus listen to our bonus mini behind-the-scenes episode on The Flaming Lips). Season 2, episode 2 featured Emmy the Great. Season 2, episode 3 featured Thao & The Get Down Stay Down. Season 2, episode 4 featured James Yorkston. Season 2, episode 5 featured London Grammar. Season 2, episode 6 featured Lucy Dacus. Season 2, episode 7 featured Adrian Younge. Season 2, episode 8 featured Sleaford Mods. Season 2, episode 9 featured SPELLLING. Season 2, episode 10 featured Courtney Barnett. Season 2, episode 11 featured Royal Blood. Season 2, episode 12 featured Xiu Xiu.

On top of being available on all podcasting platforms the podcast also airs on WLUR, an NPR affiliate based in Lexington, VA (the city where Under the Radar is currently based).

Look out for Season 3 later this year.

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