Five Julia Jacklin lyrics that showcase her evolution as an artist
Julia Jacklin has honed one of the most distinctive songwriting styles in contemporary indie rock. Pairing sweet strums and gorgeous melodies with her innermost vulnerabilities, the Australian lyricist has endeared herself to countless women who have been through exactly the same experiences she has.
It has been almost a decade since Jacklin delivered her debut album, Don’t Let the Kids Win, in 2016. The record set out most, if not all, of Jacklin’s lyrical preoccupations, from family relationships to toxic lovers. The beauty of her lyricism was already evident, but she has spent the last eight years and two follow-up albums honing her focus and flair even further.
In 2019, Jacklin delivered Crushing, an aptly titled sophomore offering. It’s an album that flits between crushing you and comforting you throughout its 40-minute runtime, containing almost the entire experience of being a woman in your 20s into just ten songs. ‘Body’ is a heart-wrenching discussion of self-image, while ‘When the Family Flies In’ considers grief with unparalleled realism. The album was a triumph, but Jacklin was only getting started.
Her most recent offering arrived in 2022 with Pre-Pleasure. Charting everything from her changing relationship with religion to her changing relationship with sex, Jacklin secured her place as a master of modern songwriting with her third album. She walks the line between the poetic and the personal seamlessly.
As we await a fourth full-length offering from the Aussie songwriter, we’re taking a look back at some of her best lyrics, charting her evolution as an artist and as a lyricist.
An exploration of Julia Jacklin lyrics:
‘Don’t Let the Kids Win’
“And I’ve got a feeling that this won’t ever change,
We’re gonna keep on getting older, it’s gonna keep on feeling strange”.
Jacklin’s talent for turning harsh life truths into gorgeous lyricism was evident from the moment she unveiled ‘Don’t Let the Kids Win’ to the world. The title track and lead single from her debut album is a heart-wrenching reflection on growing up, on growing out of people and of places. It’s also a reminder to cherish the moments and memories you still have left.
In the chorus, Jacklin acknowledges the strangeness of this feeling, of its constancy and yet its ephemerality. As she urges you to spend time with your grandparents and support your friends’ musical endeavours, Jacklin begins to forge a reputation she has since solidified as one of the warmest yet weightiest voices in modern indie.
‘Pool Party’
“You are the land and I am the dove,
My heart is heavy when you’re high”.
Unhealthy relationships have always found their way into Jacklin’s work. But long before she penned ‘Body’ about a lover who couldn’t get through a domestic flight without lighting up, she tackled the same subject in one of her earliest singles, ‘Pool Party’. Lazy strums and swaying vocals almost disguise the heartbreak that lies within, but not quite.
“You are the land and I am the dove,” Jacklin sings, “My heart is heavy when you’re high, so for me why won’t you try.” As she sings desperately to a bloodshot-eyed lover who only stops drinking to let their lungs take the hit, her words are impossibly poetic yet steeped in real emotion, an element that would come to define her songwriting style.
‘Pressure to Party’
“I know I’ve locked myself in my room,
But I’ll open up the door and try to love again soon”.
Jacklin begins to look further inwards on ‘Pressure to Party’, which featured on her sophomore album, Crushing. She tackles the experience of being a woman in your 20s head on, covering the hopeless fear of love and confused feelings of FOMO all at once. “What do I do?” she asks, “cause God how it hurts.”
At once stagnant and longing for change, she repeats one phrase throughout the song. “I know I’ve locked myself in my room,” she admits, “But I’ll open up the door and try to love again soon.” The last five words become a refrain, as she attempts to will them into existence. Despite the pressure, there’s a feeling that she just might.
‘CRY’
“Hiding my depression from my housemates,
I don’t know them well enough yet to cry in the kitchen”.
Following on from ‘Pressure to Party’, Jacklin continued to tackle friendship and feeling into a string of singles in late 2020. Accompanied by ‘to Perth, before the border closes’, the aptly titled ‘CRY’ is overspilling with teary admissions. As Jacklin makes excuses for her melancholy, walking to the store and bringing home bread to evade questioning, she perfectly portrays a situation many of us have been in.
Nowadays, the living situation of your 20s is often defined by house shares, for better or worse. As more and more of us move to new cities and find housemates online or through mutual friends, the start of a tenancy can cause feelings of dread about cooking and opening up to your fellow renters.
‘Be Careful With Yourself’
“Please stop smoking, want your life to last a long time,
If you don’t stop smoking, I’ll have to start, shorten mine”/
‘Be Careful With Yourself’ was a standout track on Jacklin’s latest full-length offering, Pre-Pleasure, a culmination of her songwriting efforts so far. It finds Jacklin tackling disagreements with her lover once more, but with a newfound tenderness and trust. As she makes plans for their future together, she politely asks her partner to be careful with themselves, as well as her.
It’s a statement for self-care and for compromise, full of practicality and passion all at once. She charts savings and smoking, doctors appointments and speed limits, but there’s a sense of love that bleeds through all of those monotonies. She even threatens to pick up her partner’s bad habits if they don’t stop them.
