“It is raw and defiant, unedited in both sound and sentiment: you can hear every breath, swallow and crack in Jacklin’s voice as she reaches into the least flattering parts of herself.”
-Alexandra Pollard for The Independent, April 4, 2019
Crushing is 5 today. This album and Alvvays’ self-titled debut are very much where my head was at prior to disappearing down the boygenius and related rabbit hole in the spring of last year. I still return to both frequently. I’d first heard of Julia Jacklin thanks to a recommendation in Uncut and liked what I heard but never really took the deep dive. With streaming, I found my way back to her and finally did take it. When I came upon Crushing, I messaged friends about it and it went into heavy rotation. I had an opportunity to see her at the Cradle last August but due to a series of unfortunate events I was dealing with at the time, I had to part with my ticket. Hopefully, I’ll have an opportunity to see her again in the not too distant future.
Today, she and Nick McKinlay, the photographer that worked with her on the album and shot the videos, are celebrating Crushing’s 5th anniversary at a small venue somewhere in Melbourne, Australia. She’s going to talk about the album, perform songs, and show videos. I’m hoping at least some of it will be filmed. Link to Alexandra Pollard’s full piece on Crushing below.