Julia Jacklin returns with 'PRE PLEASURE' (out August 26), watch "Lydia Wears A Cross" official video

May 10, 2022

Australian singer/songwriter Julia Jacklin has announced her highly anticipated new album PRE PLEASURE arriving August 26. A masterclass in songwriting, PRE PLEASURE cements Julia's status as one of the most important songwriters of her time. Pre-order an exclusive Early Bird vinyl on Cloudy Magenta (limited to 1500) from the Polyvinyl Store.

Stirring piano-led opener "Lydia Wears A Cross" introduces us to a new Julia era – you can hear it in the spare drum machine, which rustles to life on clattering percussion, synths and a solitary dirty lead guitar line. Of the track Julia shares, “The song is about a lot of things but mainly being a 7yr old Jesus Christ superstar fanatic attending catholic school trying to figure out which way is up. The music video was filmed by my constant collaborator and friend Nick Mckk at Splitpoint lighthouse. I played a show close by recently and asked on stage if anyone could let me film inside. Someone in the crowd knew a guy and that was it." Watch below.

“A lot of the time I feel like I need to do all the work before I can enjoy my life,” says Julia Jacklin of her third album, PRE PLEASURE. “Whether that’s work on songs or sex, friendships, or my relationship with my family – I think if I work on them long and hard enough, eventually I’ll get to sit around and really enjoy them. But that’s not how anything works is it. It’s all an ongoing process.”

The binary of casual crisis is a powerful force in Julia's music. Since releasing her first album Don’t Let the Kids Win in 2016, the Melbourne-via-Blue Mountains singer/songwriter has carved out a fearsome reputation as a direct lyricist, willing to excavate the parameters of intimacy and agency in songs both stark and raw, loose, and playful. If her folky debut announced those intentions, and the startling 2019 follow-up Crushing drew in listeners uncomfortably close, PRE PLEASURE is the sound of an artist gently loosening her grip.

Recorded in Montreal with co-producer Marcus Paquin (The National), Julia teamed with her Canada-based touring band, bassist Ben Whiteley and guitarist Will Kidman, both of Canadian folk outfit The Weather Station. This record also introduces drummer Laurie Torres, saxophonist Adam Kinner and string arrangements by Owen Pallett (Arcade Fire) recorded by a full orchestra in Prague.

These ten songs reflect Julia Jacklin's willingness to explore new terrain as both a producer and songwriter, but ultimately PRE PLEASURE presents an artist as her most authentic self – uncompromising and always willing to mine the depths of her experience for the sake of creating deeply personal, timeless music.