Julien Baker, most well known as a member of the indie supergroup Boygenius, has teamed up with fellow queer indie musician TORRES for a country album, “Send a Prayer My Way.” This marked both artist’s first foray into country music.
TORRES previously released new music last year with her album, “What an enormous room.” Baker last released music in 2023 with Boygenius on their Grammy-winning album “the record.” “Send a Prayer My Way” was preceded by several songs, including the lead single “Sugar In the Tank” and the opening track “Dirt.”
Highs
Though neither artist has done country before, they fit in the genre well, combining their indie sound with a Southern twang. “Send a Prayer My Way” doesn’t sound so different as to alienate fans of Baker’s indie music, though it may not be for some TORRES fans as it goes away from her rock solo work.
Their voices complimented each other and country as a genre well. TORRES’s voice was a lot more full than Baker’s and had an almost androgynous-tone while Baker’s was notably raspy and more delicate than TORRES’s. They both stood out equally on their harmonies.
Lyrically, they painted vivid pictures with an emphasis on storytelling and themes including queerness, mental health, and connection. The song “Tuesday” detailed a sapphic relationship destroyed by a homophobic mother, making use of surprising lyricism by avoiding obvious rhymes. The opening song “Dirt” deals with the protagonist being in a dark place with implications of alcoholism, “spеnd your whole life getting clеan / just to wind up in the dirt.”
Although there were heavy topics on the album, it was also nice to hear Baker being happy on a record given her usually dark output. An album highlight “No Desert Flower” was a song about supporting someone, “when you cry, it's the saddest thing / good thing I'm no desert flower / I can take more than a little rain.” The lead single, “Sugar In the Tank,” was a love song that had fun turns of phrase. “I love you now, already, and not yet / I love you deadly as a heart attack.”
Lows
“Send a Prayer My Way” was a bit too cohesive sonically. While sonic cohesion is needed for a consistent record, there also needs to be sonic diversity to keep it interesting. The majority of “Send a Prayer My Way” was slow and mid tempo songs that blended together after a while. Now this isn’t to say the record necessarily should have been more upbeat like “Sugar In the Tank", “No Desert Flower,” and the closing track “Goodbye Baby.” But rather it could have used more variety in instrumentation and tempo.
This also led to the album being a bit muted in energy. The sound was rarely surprising or exciting. Despite being a new genre for both TORRES and Baker, it wasn’t as experimental as their solo output. It didn’t need to bend country as a genre, risking it snapping. But this could also have been fixed by more variety overall with sounds. It also could have been solved with fuller production and catchier melodies. With the great lyricism and vocals, the production didn’t always match.
Verdict
Although “Send a Prayer My Way” could have used more sonic variety, country music suited the lyrical and vocal talents of both Baker and TORRES. The two of them combining twang, grit, and queer storytelling. It’s a worthy edition to the Boygenius oeuvre.
Rating: 7.5 out of 10
Frank Remski is a review columnist for The Eastern Echo. He is majoring in media studies and journalism and minoring in public relations. He has worked for The Echo since summer of 2023 and has written both news stories and opinion pieces. He was named Columnist of the Year by The Echo for his writing in the 2024-2025 school year.
