Inside Vancouver Artist Jillian Lake’s Folk-Pop Album ‘Younger Then’

elvet sounds, big feelings, and sunshine-fueled are all words to describe the newest album from Jillian Lake – Younger Then. The Vancouver artist is fully embracing who she is by forgiving her younger self and letting go of the expectations she has clung so tightly to in the past.

As she shares:

“I didn’t bother pretending, I just exposed all of myself and told the stories of my hurt. I want people to let themselves feel every feeling instead of pushing it away, burying, or hiding it. Use those feelings to learn and grow and change and listen. When I listen now, I feel like I was so naive, and juvenile, and I give myself forgiveness and grace for that, and celebrate all the ways I’ve grown.”

Over the course of the 13 tracks, listeners are treated to her delicate poetry via melodies and folksy-pop undertones that draw similarities to favorites like Maggie Rogers and Phoebe Bridgers. From the bright and colorful feel-good anthem “Olympia” to the heart-wrenching “Steady Hands,” Lake spews her emotions into her music and lyrics, touching on a lot of firsts – everything from grief, falling in love, multiple heartbreaks, self-discovery, feeling alive, picking herself up and experiencing it all over again.

We sat down with Jillian to get a bit of insider insight into the album – check it out below!

Where did the title Younger Then come from?

Jillian Lake: “Naming the album Younger Then was a way for me to let go of a lot of expectations I had of myself for the first album. These songs are some of my first – when I was just figuring out everything and myself – and it was very freeing to just tell myself ‘It’s ok, I was younger then.’”

What inspired you to start creating this album?

“Once I started recording, I never wanted to stop. That’s what I want to keep doing forever – making records. So, I had all these songs and snippets and I couldn’t wait to get into the studio and get some of the rambling ideas down and give them a life outside of my messy, messy head.” 🙂

Cover artwork for ‘Younger Then’ by Jillian Lake

What’s your favorite track on the album? Why?

“I love the title track, “Younger Then” cause to me it completes the record and tells the story. One lyric is ‘I wear my heart on these undone sleeves, just so you can watch it bleed.’ That’s my dramatic ass way of saying I turned my pain and my stories into songs that can now be perceived in many different ways.”

Favorite lyrical line on the album? Why?

“‘Nobody likes the girl who can’t get up off the floor.’

“This line has been one that always stuck with me, and I played around with it in previous songs and then somehow it found its place in the ‘XVII’ bridge perfectly. I just like the raw rough honesty as encouragement instead of the ‘everything’s gonna be ok.’”

How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard it before?

“Velvet sounds + big feelings!”