Julia’s stunning new offering ‘Head Alone’, is the second single from her forthcoming sophomore album. ‘Head Alone’, a pointed and electrifying anthem of refusal, follows the devastating first single ‘Body’. While upbeat in rhythm, ‘Head Alone’ maintains the pointed, complex lyricism Julia has become synonymous for.
“‘Head Alone’ is not a song that comes from a singular experience. It came from two years of feeling like the space around me shrinking to the point where I couldn't even raise my arms. This song is me raising my arms and running into an open field. A bit of a plea to those around me to give me space and a song to remind myself that it's okay to enforce boundaries, the good people in your life will listen, adapt and still love you.” - Julia Jacklin
With ‘Head Alone’ and ‘Body’ marking the poignant return of Julia Jacklin, Liberation Records are thrilled to reveal Julia’s hugely anticipated second album titled Crushing will be released on Friday 22 February 2019 - Polyvinyl for the US and Transgressive for the UK/ Europe.
Along with the single and album news, Frontier Touring are pleased to announce Julia will take her sophomore album on the road following its release. The Crushing Tour set for March 2019, will see the Blue Mountains artist hit metro and regional centres along the east coast including Wollongong, Canberra, Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Newcastle, playing some of her biggest rooms in Australia to date. Julia’s last Australian tour was a sell out including two Corner Hotels in Melbourne and Metro Theatre in Sydney. Following the Australian leg, Julia will head overseas for a massive run of shows across the UK, Europe, the US and Canada.
“The band and I worked really hard on this album, really got to know each other as friends and musicians and it's going to be super great to recreate it on stage. They're pretty personal songs but I feel like the audiences I've built up over the last couple of years are respectful and open. It's going to be a nice environment to play them first,” Julia says of the tour.
Melbourne artist Olympia will join Julia across all dates on the Crushing Tour. Following on from her critically-acclaimed album Self Talk (released via EMI in 2016), Olympia has recently released ‘Star City’, the first single from her forthcoming sophomore release. Fresh off the back of her own headline tour last month, and with an an ARIA Award nomination and shortlist for the Australian Music Prize to her name, Olympia is proving to be a creative force to be reckoned with. Julia will also be joined by rising Sydney indie artist Annie Hamilton at the Sydney, Wollongong, Canberra and Newcastle shows, singer/songwriter Robert Muinos at the Melbourne show and Asha Jefferies in Brisbane.
Across 10 incredible tracks, Crushing embodies every possible meaning of its title word. It’s an album formed from sheer intensity of feeling, an in-the-moment narrative of heartbreak and infatuation. Whilst a moving and complex listen, Crushing unfolds with an ease that echoes Jacklin’s newfound self-reliance as an artist. With Julia’s storytelling centered on bodies, crossed boundaries and smothering closeness, Crushing reveals how our physical experience of the world shapes and sometimes distorts our inner lives.
“I really like this album, I worked hard on it and I really like listening to it. That's not usually how I feel after making something. I've finally come to accept that right now for me, making records is about capturing a time; who I am at that time, what I need to say in the best way I can say it, with minimal studio frills to cover it up. So I'm really happy to announce this one and ready for whatever things get thrown my way because of it,” Julia explains of the album.
Produced by Burke Reid (Courtney Barnett, Liam Finn) and recorded at The Grove Studios, Crushing sets Jacklin’s understated defiance against a raw yet luminous sonic backdrop. “In all the songs, you can hear every sound from every instrument; you can hear my throat and hear me breathing,” she says. “It was really important to me that you can hear everything for the whole record, without any studio tricks getting in the way.”
Crushing follows Julia’s most recent release, the Eastwick/Cold Caller double A-side (released 17 September 2017), and her critically acclaimed debut album, Don’t Let The Kids Win (released 7 October 2016) featuring ‘Pool Party’, ‘Leadlight’ and ‘Coming of Age’,. The album went on to achieve stunning critical acclaim across the globe saw the artist tour the world non-stop following its release. Jacklin was awarded ‘Next Big Thing’ at the FBi SMAC Awards, Best Independent Blues and Roots album at the AIR Awards and was nominated for two ARIA Awards and Album of the Year at the J Awards in 2017.
Having just finalised a huge run of US tour dates across September and October supporting First Aid Kit, Julia returned to home soil for a quick break before heading to the UK this month for sold out headline dates across London, Manchester and Glasgow.
Crushing is a masterpiece and Julia Jacklin’s live shows are simply captivating. We look forward to welcoming both early in 2019.
“Body is brooding and dark in a way that invites non-musical comparisons: the slow dance of a couple in a poorly lit speakeasy, a secret kept hidden for generations, films that flicker and leave questions unanswered, a young romance that isn’t good for either party.” - The Guardian
‘Julia Jacklin hits right in the heart’ – NPR
“You can just imagine yourself drunk, swaying along with her band and someone you love in a dimly lit bar” – Rolling Stone
TOUR DATES
Tuesday 5 March – UOW Unibar, Wollongong
Wednesday 6 March – ANU, Canberra
Saturday 9 March – The Triffid, Brisbane
Thursday 14 March – The Forum, Melbourne
Friday 15 March – Metro Theatre, Sydney
Saturday 16 March – Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle
All shows – 18+
