Track of the Week: Julia Jacklin looks back with The Maes for ‘I Wish’
Julia Jacklin understands the painfully universal feeling of sadness all too well.
Following the lead single, ‘Get Away From Me (I Think I’ll Love You Soon)’, from her forthcoming album, The Gem (out September 5th via 4AD), Jacklin introduces ‘I Wish’, a moving reflection on the past that finds strength while facing an unspoken sadness, desperately searching for a glimmer of faith.
“I want to love and be loved, but I also want to be free,” Jacklin explained upon The Gem’s announcement. “The tension between those two things has been the central question of my life.”
On ‘I Wish’, this tension builds as Jacklin mourns her wishes of what could have been, sung with vocals reminiscent of Joni Mitchell. “Oh, I wish I’d had help back then,” she hums, “Oh, I wish I’d had better friends.” There is an isolation seeped into her story, reminiscent of the push-and-pull of being independent while privately wishing to be noticed.
On ‘I Wish’, Jacklin is joined by Elsie and Maggie Rigby, the Australian siblings behind the folk duo The Maes. Their voices cascade behind Jacklin’s, introduced after the tone shifts from darkness into light.
Together, they layer and elevate to a place of hope, a beautiful transition. “Would not believe things could grow from pain,” they cry, “Until they did, ledge by ledge / I saw a baby bird raise its head.”
There is a gentle tone across the song that brings comfort even in the midst of such sadness. The vocals, of course, lend to this, but there is also the sentiment of looking back on a former self, wanting better for them while acknowledging all of the growth that came from pain.
As Jacklin sings, she grew into “something new, a foreign landscape / with no trees, not a drop of rain,” in disbelief at just how much she could grow.
Towards the end, Jacklin admits, “Still I wish someone had been there at the time,” repeating the desire for a source of comfort outside of herself. It is a heartbreaking note to end on, but it also reminds us of the fact that as time goes on, some things cannot be forgotten.
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