You might not hear it on your first few listens of Julia Jacklin’s PRE PLEASURE (out Friday, August 26th), but underneath the ten beautifully arranged, open-hearted tracks is the presence of a certain French-Canadian megastar.
“I feel like it’s a bit of a personality test for me now,” the Australian singer-songwriter tells Consequence of the one-and-only Celine Dion. “If someone is shit-talking Celine Dion, I’m like, what do you find joy in?”
And though you’ll likely never hear Jacklin perform “Moviegoer” in a 45,000-seat Las Vegas arena, Jacklin cites Dion as being a “spiritual guide” during the writing and recording of her latest album. Inspired by Dion’s unabashedly dramatic pop ballads, Jacklin found herself with a newfound license to have fun and embrace big feelings. Such freedom combined with a more sizable budget resulted in the potent, truthful PRE PLEASURE.
The record sees Jacklin exploring a slightly new set of sounds, like on the drum machine-driven “Lydia Wears A Cross” or the string-backed “Ignore Tenderness,” all without losing the magic of her voice. It’s the sound of Jacklin finding the comfort to embrace compositional collaboration and the confidence to follow her instincts without worrying if it aligns with the indie-rock definition of “cool.”
“I think I’ve gotten a lot better at understanding that I don’t need to be really good at everything in order for it to happen,” Jacklin tells Consequence. “This time, I’ve just grown up and I feel more confident in these spaces, and I know that I have skills and I don’t need to feel inadequate because I don’t have all the skills.”
