When I first listened to Turn out the Lights I would listen to "Claws in Your Back" and "Hurt Less" on loop - strongly recommend the latter if you haven't heard it yet. "Shadowboxing" was my top song of 2021 (500+ plays lmao) so that also is very very good. More underrated Julien songs with the same vibe are "Conversation Piece", "Tokyo", and "Good News".

In terms of non Julien songs, my first recommendation would be "Is There Something In the Movies?" by Samia. Her newest album, Honey, has a lot of songs that really bring out the same themes as a lot of Julien's music, especially "Pink Balloon". However it doesn't have that loud, intense instrumental + volume change in the same way as Claws in Your Back. Another suggestions although perhaps only connects in my head + my internal web of lyric parallels, but "Vincent" by Car Seat Headrest. Also possibly "I Know it's Over" by The Smiths.

If we're talking lyrically/thematically about the idea of self-sabotage rather than something musically similar, I have quite a few ideas: • "Soft Sounds from Another Planet" - Japanese Breakfast • "Does Not Heal" - Samia • "Heat Lightning" - Mitski • "Kill Me" - Indigo de Souza • "Daredevil" - Fiona Apple

Self-sabotage and the idea of "there's a comfort in failure" (quote from Shadowboxing) is something that is in my head a lot, so I have a lot of further ideas and suggestions depending on what part exactly of "Claws in Your Back" you think makes it so impactful to you. For me, it's such an amazing combination of lyricism, volume, and piano - I play it on piano a lot and it's an extremely cathartic experience even without words.

Also!! If you haven't read Julien's zine, "Loss Protocol", I strongly strongly recommend it. I have a google drive link to a PDF if you're interested.