Album Review: Julia Jacklin, The Gem

This is not the first time Julia Jacklin has won us over with her succinct storytelling. Having delved into the trials of broken relationships and quarter-life crises on her first two albums, she returns with The Gem, offering 10 mesmeric and propulsive tracks.

The Aussie songwriter has made the art of the bittersweet ballad one of her calling cards, and this light heartache bleeds into The Gem, but with bolder sonics. There are polished nods to ’80s jangle-rock, and to the Melbourne sound she fell in love with as a budding singer-songwriter. The album was recorded in The Gem, the titular pub where Jacklin got her start and spent many nights performing.

‘Brand New’ is an uncompromising opener, with its heavy-on-the-heart rhythm underpinning Jacklin’s raw vocals. ‘Get Away From Me (I Think I’ll Love You)’ is a mischievously charming slice of ’80s-style pop, capturing the neurosis of the narrator, who can’t quite figure out how to be free and loved simultaneously. While informed by Jacklin’s own lived experience, the song is rooted in a very universal feeling.

Ultimately, The Gem finds the singer refining what she does best, while pushing her sound into more daring territory, with a blend of restless energy and bittersweet lyricism. Jacklin remains compelling precisely because she makes vulnerability sound so assured.

• Out now.