Claws in Your Back

Claws in Your Back describes the physical sensation of being held by something that damages you — the claws belonging to something unnamed but clearly internal, some version of compulsion or self-attack that grips tighter the more you resist. The production is intimate and close, Baker's guitar tone warm but the playing deliberate, each note placed with intention. Her vocal control is remarkable here: she sings about being seized and torn with a voice that remains almost unnervingly measured, which creates a productive cognitive dissonance. The lyrics blend the somatic and psychological in ways that feel clinically precise — she's describing mental health experience through body sensation, which is exactly how it often manifests. The song sits in the tradition of confessional writing that refuses self-pity in favor of accurate report. There's something almost documentary about it. Best heard during the day when you have enough distance to receive it without being overwhelmed, though it rewards close repeated listening.