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 ...
Read More
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, Rovi
Read Less
Add this copy of Pre Pleasure to cart. $18.50, new condition, Sold by Salzer's Records rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from ventura, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2022 by Polyvinyl.
Add this copy of PRE PLEASURE to cart. $21.89, new condition, Sold by Importcds rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Sunrise, FL, UNITED STATES, published 2022 by Polyvinyl.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Jacklin. New. New in new packaging. USA Orders only! Brand New product! please allow delivery times of 3-7 business days within the USA. US orders only please.
![Don't Let the Kids Win [LP]](https://www3.alibris-static.com/dont-let-the-kids-win-lp/cover/z16211b78le.jpg)
