IF you’ve tuned into Triple J lately or perused the music press, you’ve heard or read about Julia Jacklin.
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The hype is white-hot for the 26-year-old singer-songwriter from the Blue Mountains, both here and abroad. And for good reason.
Six weeks ago Jacklin released her debut album Don’t Let The Kids Win, filled with delightful slices of alt-country, folk and jangly guitar pop, to instant acclaim. After she released three quality singles in Pool Party, Leadlight and Coming Of Age, anticipation was high that the girl in battered ‘80s Reeboks rescued from Springwood St Vinnies, was about to deliver something special.
Jacklin surpassed the expectation with aplomb. With a classically-trained voice and sparse instrumentation; the record drips with ‘60s nostalgia. Jacklin’s lyrics about the fears of quarter-life crisis and ageing, read like the thoughts of a fully-formed artist.
Don’t Let The Kids Win has been a victory for Jacklin. It received universally-positive reviews on release and Triple J have already nominated it for album of the year.
When Weekender caught up with Jacklin ahead of her debut Newcastle show on December 3 she was enjoying a rare night off at Barnard Castle in Durham during her first major UK tour.
Only two months ago Jacklin’s main source of income was an essential oils factory job in Sydney, so performing in front of adoring international crowds is a “different existence.”
“I’ve been gigging for six years, so it’s not exactly wham bam and here we go,” Jacklin says. “It definitely feels very quick though, going from just playing in Sydney every week and then within a year doing extensive international touring.”
“I’m figuring out how to balance tour life and the creative part of it. It’s what I’m battling with at the moment.
- Julia Jacklin
Jacklin arrived back in Australia this week, but after the success of her European Tour she has already made plans to return in February.
The fear of never having her music heard beyond friends and family fuels the lyrics on Don't Let The Kids Win, particularly the title track, the album’s liveliest song Coming Of Age and Motherland which contains the lines, “These new lines on my face/Spell out girl pick up your pace/If you want to stay true to what your younger self would do.”
Have those fears evaporated with her new-found success?
“It has definitely helped quieten those fears I guess,” she says. “You still have those fears again like with the second record. Worrying you won’t make another one or make a good one.
“Especially with this kind of lifestyle, because you get a bit of success and suddenly you have no time to write.”
Jacklin has traditionally written alone. Those quiet moments of reflection and introspection serve her best. They are particularly rare on tour and Jacklin has taken to the very un-rock’n’roll practice of rising early to acquire some solitude.
“The big thing is just to continue doing this, so I’m kind of hoping I have the time and energy and inspiration to make something better or a good development on what I’ve started,” she says. “I’m figuring out how to balance tour life and the creative part of it. It’s what I’m battling with at the moment.
“It’s a hard question to answer right now because I have such a hectic schedule at the moment that I’m just trying to focus on one day at a time and trying not to look too far ahead or I get a little overwhelmed.”
The key to building on Don’t Let The Kids Win will likely come from continuing its legacy. A major breakthrough for Jacklin’s songwriting came when she dispensed with fictional stories and instead focused on her own experiences.
This has led to many “emotional chats” on tour with fans who have related with Jacklin’s honest lyrics about mourning the end of her childhood and fears of ageing.
“I think it feels a lot better to sing about things I actually care about,” she says. “They aren’t particularly unique experiences, but it’s nice when people are like, ‘Man I feel exactly the same way’ or ‘that reminds me of my sister.’
“Those moments are really nice because I think, cool, I can put into words some things that other people might want to as well. It’s important to me to boil down very common experiences in life to the reality of what is it, rather than being all whimsical and poetic about it.”
Julia Jacklin plays the Small Ballroom on December 2.
