It’s 2025 and everyone seems to be going country. Why is this? What is this unexplainable phenomenon? Whatever the reason, some acts have had better luck than others, a few have given the world excellent offerings, and some have clearly been riding the country wave.
Now we have Julien Baker & TORRES releasing their take on country with their full length Send a Prayer My Way. The album is quite pleasantly the real deal. If you haven’t already been exposed to these two artists (check out Baker’s previous rock sound and boygenius affiliation and TORRES' experimental albums) you would think this duo is one of the hottest country acts going. Everything about this record is genuine — there aren’t any cheesy country fallbacks and it avoids the stereotypical elements that are frequently associated with the genre (corny lyrics, lame machismo). It sounds like the duo's been performing country a long time.
Baker’s soft introspective contralto and TORRES' deep timbre combine effortlessly into one of the best duet singer/songwriter sets — they really play off each other very well. The song's themes hit on loneliness, alcoholism, being gay — all real life stuff brought to you with no frills. Take the track “Bottom of a Bottle,” which has the two trading vocal duty. It’s a poignant track hinting at caring too much for someone, being down and out and eventually being at the bottom of the bottle. When Baker and TORRES sing in unison the line "Oh God, don't let me die / Here at the bottom of a bottle” you can feel the pain they share in that line. It’s real, it's raw, and again, genuine.
“Tuesday” is another track that tackles tough subject matter. This time the narrative is that of a gay individual whose family is not accepting. This leads to feelings of betrayal from Tuesday (the lover) and self-mutilation: “Instead of backing me up, Tuesday melted right down / Asked me to write her mother and say, sorry for the confusion / That of course there had been no sin / To emphasize how much I love Jesus and men.”
It’s not all sadness on Send A Prayer My Way though. The lead single, “Sugar in the Tank,” is a rousing romp through being in love. It's a strong track early on and a highlight for sure.
Send A Prayer My Way should be a textbook example on how to do a country album right. When you have such talent like Baker and TORRES behind the mic it’s no surprise that this record is as strong as it is. What was surprising was how much it made me want to whip out a fiddle or pedal steel and join my own country band. If you like good music, give it a listen.
