Project Description

JULIA JACKLIN

@ The Triffid

09/03/19

(Live Review)

Reviewer: Alexandra Ainsworth

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With a new sophomore under her belt, the name Julia Jacklin seems inescapable as of late—her sold out Brisbane leg of the album tour gives me an opportunity to see why.

Tonight’s set starts, as her latest record does, with the slow hum of Body. It’s a melancholy introduction to Julia Jacklin, but one that is stunning to bear witness too. There’s nothing between Jacklin and the crowd, her raw vocals propelled forward by little more than a drumbeat and a barely-there guitar. The sheer honesty of what Jacklin has to offer is surprisingly powerful, the crowd falling dead-silent to give Jacklin space to tell her stories, heart-wrenching as they may be. Body is a heavy place to start, but it’s a sobering moment that sets the tone for the rest of the evening.

The next few tracks, Eastwick and Leadlight, come from debut record Don’t Let The Kids Win, the two tracks bringing with them a welcomed sense of familiarity and nostalgia that sweeps across the room. Jacklin’s lyrics feel deceptively simple, which gives her vocals a chance to shine above any instrumentals. There’s a complete inhibition felt deep within her lyrics. Even in her darkest of moments, Jacklin remains upright and unafraid, her music providing a soaring sense of catharsis that permeates the deep within its listener.

The set moves through Motherland and Don’t Know How To Keep Loving You, both interpretations of love songs in their own right. The two are followed by Turn Me Down, a song so raw and so real it feels too private to be privy to. The climax comes sans instruments, just lyrics sung with her eyes shut in a delicate yet bold delivery that manages to encapsulate the essence of Julia Jacklin within one repeating line.

It’s this unwavering sense of self-taught confidence that makes Jacklin utterly fascinating. While there’s undeniable talent in her vocals and guitar, it’s her brazen lyricisms that grasps attention without being aggressive or demanding. Crushing an album built on these inner thoughts and feelings, and watching the record unfold on stage gives the experience a whole new layer of depth and profound meaning.

The final track comes in the form of Pressure to Party, an ironically upbeat ode to being forced to socialise when you’re not ready to. It seems to be an anthem befitting to tonight’s crowd, as the words are sung back in full force. The track is a neat cap to tonight’s offerings, but an encore gives us a final opportunity to soak in as much Jacklin as we can in one night. The tempo slows once more for Hey Plain, a folksy blues slow-burn that feels wonderfully true to Jacklin’s roots. You could say it ends the evening on a high, but it would be more accurate to say the entire set is a high—there are no points to fault, as it’s those (incredibly few) faults that make Jacklin such a pure joy to listen to.

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Check out Mike Wotton‘s gallery of the show here

Connect with JULIA JACKLIN
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