Julia Jacklin: Pre Pleasure — Ripples with a sense of discomfort

The singer-songwriter’s third album acknowledges shifting personal politics and how we have to walk ourselves into the answers

Pre Pleasure
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Artist: Julia Jacklin
Genre: Rock
Label: Polyvinyl Record Co

Julia Jacklin’s third album ripples with a sense of discomfort; the way we communicate, or rather, miscommunicate, and the serious and casual crises that can litter one’s life.

A direct lyricist, she manages to weave an equally direct sense of intimacy over the course of this record. Lydia Wears a Cross and its softly driving guitars brings us back to her childhood, attending Catholic school, confused about faith, and loving Jesus Christ Superstar. Love, Try Not to Let Go and its glacial piano melody complements Jacklin’s inviting voice, building up to a clattering crescendo amid fluttering keys and crisp drums.

Ignore Tenderness seeks to navigate the hyper-sexualised 21st century, it is a compelling interrogation of consent, emotional injury and true connection, explored through a warm washed-out sonic palette. Album highlight Too in Love to Die is delicately flooring, and with beautiful organ it prefaces the guitar-led and sombre Less of a Stranger, referencing a complicated mother-daughter relationship.

The woozy dreaminess of the cinematic moviegoer informs the country-inflected Magic, and Be Careful with Yourself illustrates Jacklin’s improvisational flair, a loose jam that is quite masterful. String-drenched closer End of a Friendship draws over the coals of disintegration, and over a sly bossa nova beat she sings of “spinning around the room” — perfectly emblematic of a record that acknowledges shifting personal politics and how we have to walk ourselves into the answers.

Siobhán Kane

Siobhán Kane is a contributor to The Irish Times specialising in culture