Last month, American Laundry Records announced the exciting news that an Elliott Smith tribute album would be released later in 2016 entitled Say Yes! A Tribute to Elliott Smith. This 15-track record features some great covers performed by the late artist's peers and current musicians that have made names for themselves in the last few years. This week, we listened to up-and-coming singer-songwriter Julien Baker's heart-wrenching cover of "Ballad of Big Nothing," which we've shared below.
Baker's reception in the music world has been very favorable, with a debut 2015 album, Sprained Ankle making a number of "Best of" lists and mounting tour dates and more set for this year. In her take on the iconic Either/Or track, Baker's allows Smith's lyrics to shine thanks to her similarly aching vocal style.
Smith had a mysterious way of singing his songs that were mainly influenced by depression into pop-rock tunes that you could tap your toes to, but when you really examine the lyrics, there's so much pain. That's why we love Baker's cover.
Listen to Julien Baker's cover of "Ballad of Big Nothing" right here (via Consequence of Sound / American Laundry Records):
You can pre-order the tribute album right here.
Check out the tracklist for this incredible tribute record (alphabetized by song):
01. Waxahatchee - "Angeles"
02. Julien Baker - "Ballad Of Big Nothing"
03. Tanya Donelly - "Between The Bars"
04. Yuck - "Bled White"
05. Jesu/Sun Kil Moon - "Condor Ave"
06. Lou Barlow - "Division Day"
07. Wild Sun - "Easy Way Out"
08. Tomo Nakayama - "Miss Misery"
09. Juliana Hatfield - "Needle In The Hay"
10. Caroline Says - "No Name #3"
11. Adam Franklin - "Oh Well, Okay"
12. Amanda Palmer - "Pictures Of Me"
13. William Fitzsimmons - "Say Yes"
14. Escondido - "Waltz #1"
15. J. Mascis - "Waltz #2"
