SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: JULIA JACKLIN – PRE PLEASURE

Julia Jacklin
Pre Pleasure
Polyvinyl/Universal Music Canada

Australian singer songwriter Julia Jacklin has had no problems with words so far. It didn’t matter whether it was her lyrics, album and song titles, or interviews. No problem in that respect again this time around with her latest album Pre Pleasure. In that respect, it puts her in the rank of one of the best music wordsmiths around.

Yet, again, her music fully matches her lyrical capabilities here. Actually, she takes her songwriting up another notch, fully matching her outstanding vocal capabilities. In many ways, this album could bear the subtitle of the art of subdued pleasures, with Jacklin, on one hand, going above and beyond what she has done so far, and on the other, remaining fully recognizable in her personal sound she has developed so far.

Even when Jacklin picks up the rhythm here and there on the album like on “I Was A Neon”, Jacklin presents herself as the master of subtle in the way she expresses herself both musically and lyrically.

As she puts it, “I care so much about the people around me, so much it makes me want to sleep forever, it feels so overwhelming” says Jacklin. “I wasn’t raised in an environment where language was used to express love and care, part of my songwriting process is me trying to rectify that, force myself to put words to those feelings.”

See Pre Pleasure end up on many “Best Of” lists for 2022.

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