Julia Jacklin
Be Careful With Yourself
PRE PLEASURE
Released 26 August 2022
“I think making music in general is just an endless process of being so deep within yourself, but then you have to get over yourself to actually put it down,” Julia Jacklin tells Apple Music. “You can't take yourself too seriously and you can't feel anything is important, even yourself, because then you're just going to be too paralysed to actually put anything down in a recording. You have to lose the ego in the studio, but you need the ego to write the music in the first place.” The Blue Mountains-born, Melbourne-based singer-songwriter let herself—and her ego—free on her third album, PRE PLEASURE.
There’s a sense of thrilling musical freedom throughout, partly because she took melodramatic inspiration from Céline Dion, partly because it's what she calls her “most-produced” album yet, with new sounds, instruments (including an orchestra), beats and melodies throughout. Still, the emotions, the stories and the intimacy within her music are every bit as affecting, personal and often heart-wrenching as ever. PRE PLEASURE contains songs that reflect on love, friendship, growing up around religion, her relationship with her mother, and how art and artists were perceived during the pandemic. With production that reflects the thematic versatility throughout, no two songs sound alike—but they all fit together into a cohesive, enveloping release.