THE beauty of Julia Jacklin's songwriting has always been her innate ability to articulate universal feelings we didn't realise existed.
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If her 2016 debut Don't Let The Kids Win explored her quarter-life crisis and fear of failure and 2019's Crushing was about reclaiming oneself after a breakup, then album No.3, Pre Pleasure, sees Jacklin accepting the bruises of her past with new-found responsibility.
Pre Pleasure was recorded in Montreal, Canada with co-producer Marcus Paquin (The Weather Station, The National), and the Blue Mountains-raised, Melbourne-based singer-songwriter has completely dispensed with the folk and Americana of her debut.
The chugging indie guitar-dominated I Was Neon and Be Careful With Yourself are the heaviest tracks, but there's still plenty of Jacklin's hushed and intimate acoustic folk moments on the mid-album Less Of A Stranger and Moviegoer.
Jacklin also dabbles in her first piano ballad on the Sarah Blasko-styled Love, Try Not To Let Go.
Jacklin has always been direct in grappling with contentious issues. Religion, sex and family tension and responsibilities are all broached with insight.
On the cinematic Ignore Tenderness Jacklin sings of her libido issues, which she attributes to childhood experiences of "be naughty, but don't misbehave."
"I was staring at my own reflection/ Ever since I was 13 I've been pulled in every direction," she sings. Then later: "All that conflicting advice/ Go put ice in your mouth/ Let them slap you about/ Go choke yourself out."
By the time Jacklin reaches Magic, a slow and jangly build reminiscent of The Velvet Underground's Heroin, the pressures to sexually perform have become unbearable.
Be Careful With Yourself sees Jacklin pleading with a family member to "please stop smoking, want your life to last a long time."
Pre Pleasure finds the 31-year-old at an intriguing juncture in her career. While the record doesn't expand musically on her previous work, the album represents her finest and most assured lyrical musings.
4 stars
Josh Leeson
Josh Leeson is an entertainment and features journalist, specialising in music, at the Newcastle Herald. He first joined the masthead in 2008 after stints at the Namoi Valley Independent and Port Stephens Examiner and has previously covered sport including the Asian Cup, A-League, Surfest, cricket and rugby league.
Josh Leeson is an entertainment and features journalist, specialising in music, at the Newcastle Herald. He first joined the masthead in 2008 after stints at the Namoi Valley Independent and Port Stephens Examiner and has previously covered sport including the Asian Cup, A-League, Surfest, cricket and rugby league.
