Julien Baker and TORRES - Send A Prayer My Way

Morgan Wallen, Shaboozey, and Chappell Roan (kinda) are just some of the names that have put country music well and truly back on the map. Far from jumping on the bandwagon, Julien Baker and TORRES have offered their talents to Americana, producing an album that injects the most 'trad' of all the genres with a much-needed kick into the 21st century through tales of queer love and the vulnerability of identity.

'Send A Prayer My Way' is an album that is beautifully poised and effortlessly natural, alternating between the raw, strained quality of Baker's vocals and TORRES' raspier, earthier tones to create a record perfectly balanced by flawless harmony and a fearless approach to the whole country music spectrum. Gut-wrenching opener 'Dirt' finds its home at the folkier end, as acoustic guitar is embellished with classic clawhammer electric guitar, all providing the ideal backdrop for Julien Baker to bear her soul and break your heart. 'The Only Marble I Have Left' journeys down into the Deep South as rhythms sit just at the edge of syncopation, before 'Sugar In The Tank' illuminates the kind of country-rock that makes you understand the genre's enduring appeal to generations of fans.

Traditional country imagery – 'Bottom of a Bottle', 'Off the Wagon' – pays homage to the dive bars and open roads of America's Wild West that birthed country music, while 'Tuesday' and 'Sylvia' present narratives of queer awakening, inbuilt and enforced shame, and illicit romance, that make this project so powerful. They open a conservative genre for people previously excluded from the scene, allowing them to stand proud and tall in a world trying to cut them down simply for existing.

'Send A Prayer My Way' is a heart-bursting record that underlines the power of unity in a fractured world. A must-listen.