On February 26th, Julien Baker is set to drop her third full-length album, Little Oblivions, via Matador Records. After sharing lead single “Faith Healer” in October, the indie rocker has returned today with another preview in “Hardline”.
The new offering is the LP’s opening track, tasked with setting the tone for all that’s to come — and it does an exemplary job. Baker is raw and exposed from the very start, the first full minute comprised of just her fragile vocals atop stirring, synthesized strings. By the time she is completely settled into “Hardline”, backed by further instrumentation, it’s the lyrics that then hold the pain.
“When it finally gets too much, always told you you could leave it anytime,” croons the boygenius songwriter. “‘Til then I’ll split the difference between medicine and poison/ Take what I can get away with while it burns through my stomach.”
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Check out “Hardline” below via an official video from director Joe Baughman, whose other credits include Wilco and The Roots. In a statement about the clip, he said,
“… Even after having spent 600 hours immersed in ‘Hardline’ and having listened to it thousands of times, I am still moved by it. It was a fun and ambitious challenge creating something that could accompany such a compelling song. The style of the set design, inspired by a sculpture that Julien created, was especially fun to work in. I loved sifting through magazines, maps, and newspapers from the 60s and 70s and finding the right colors, shapes, and quotes to cover almost every surface in the video.”
