PRE PLEASURE

by Julia Jacklin

Overview

Singer and songwriter Julia Jacklin's second full-length, Crushing (2019), was a devastatingly raw and nuanced breakup album that broke her into the Top Ten in her native Australia. For the follow-up, she entered the studio with her third different producer in as many albums, Marcus Paquin (the Weather Station, the National), who helped open up her sound with assistance from a backing band that includes members of the Weather Station and, in a few cases, an orchestra featuring string arrangements by Owen Pallett. Another change-up on the resulting PRE PLEASURE, a record that seems to dwell in relationship(s) limbo, is that Jacklin wrote much of it on a Roland keyboard with built-in band tracks instead of on guitar. In the end, these differences, while notable, are somewhat subtle, as the songs still sound distinctively and intimately hers. The track list's sequencing loads the front end with midtempo soft rockers, including opener "Lydia Wears a Cross" ("I'd be a believer/If I thought we had a chance"), which employs some of those canned drums, at least to start. Songs like "Love, Try Not to Let Go" and the elegant "Ignore Tenderness" ("I've been thinking back/To when things went offtrack") continue to dig into underlying emotions and motivations while introducing minimal strings. The distortion-fueled, uptempo "I Was a Neon" then leads into the heart of PRE PLEASURE, the stark and vulnerable "Too in Love to Die," a Jacklin all-timer with only organ, acoustic guitar, and ghostly voice accompaniment, which is paired with the spare folk entry "Less of a Stranger." While the mood lifts for the remaining tracks, PRE PLEASURE never stops being affecting, with songs such as "Moviegoer," a slinky, evocative narrative about films ("Someone thin is smoking/With a look all-knowing"), their fans, and filmmakers ("40 million dollars/Still nobody loves you") that incorporates breathy, atmospheric woodwinds. Poignant closer "End of a Friendship" brings together expansive strings, a relaxed rhythm section, shimmery guitar delay, a tender, lyrical melody, and eventual squealing feedback before ending on the opener's mechanical drums. Although Crushing is a hard act to follow, Jacklin pulls it off gracefully here, with an album whose dramatic arc and songs hold their own. ~ Marcy Donelson

Product Details

Release Date:	08/26/2022
Label:	POLYVINYL RECORDS
UPC:	0644110046420

Tracks

1. Lydia Wears a Cross
2. Love, Try Not to Let Go
3. Ignore Tenderness
4. I Was Neon
5. Too in Love to Die
6. Less of a Stranger
7. Moviegoer
8. Magic
9. Be Careful With Yourself
10. End of a Friendship

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Julia Jacklin   Primary Artist,Piano,Vocals,Guitar (Electric),Guitar (Nylon String)
Marcus Paquin   Synthesizer,Drum Machine,Guitar (Acoustic)
Ben Whiteley   Piano,Synthesizer,Guitar (Bass),Guitar (Acoustic)
Adam Kinner   Saxophone
Karen Ng   Clarinet
Laurie Torres   Drums,Percussion
Will Kidman   Vibraphone,Organ (Hammond),Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric)

Technical Credits

Joao Carvalho   Mastering
Marcus Paquin   Producer,Mixing,Engineer
Julia Jacklin   Composer,Producer,Back Cover
Sebastian White   Design
Karolanne Carbonneau   Assistant Engineer
Nick Mckk   Cover Photo
Owen Pallett   String Arrangements