Julia Jacklin
Don’t Let The Kids Win
(Polyvinyl Records)
Julia Jacklin’s presence is soothing across Don’t Let The Kids Win. It’s one of the rare times I want a singer to be constantly found riding above the music, because frankly, Jacklin’s cadence fits the music so well it can be a bit monotonous without her. That being said, Jacklin’s delivery allows for her debut record to be one of the many emotionally heavy records to be released this year. It’s a record full of much needed cleansing after plenty of mourning, a solace in the weight of despair and ever so catchy to a listener’s ear.
Julia Jacklin’s selling point of Don’t Let The Kids Win is the intertwining heartbroken lyrics transformed into decorative anthems. Most of the songs across the album are slow burners, letting Jacklin’s stories sink in as her waves of music slowly hit your eardrum. The meanings seep through, pouring her anguish into one’s bloodstream and letting it diffuse, much like the idea of “Pool Party.” Here, Jacklin is watching a relationship slowly dissipate through the metaphor of a party by the pool, or an actual party with an actualized realization that there can’t be love there anymore. The music here is a bit loud, while “Elizabeth” has Jacklin’s decadent voice dancing with a softer palette, showcasing her knack for creative catchiness no matter the backdrop.
Don’t Let The Kids Win is a record full of slow burners, that dwindling flame that you hope never goes out because it’s the final embrace of warmth left. There’s not many songs that feel rushed or ready to hand over all their cards quickly. Julia Jacklin uses her pace to fight through her angst, not allowing it to take over her creative identity. “Hay Plain” is about as explosive as we see the singer get, building to a full voiced amorphous delivery at the song’s climax, before settling back to the quiet realm, settling in for Jackin’s closing track, the self-titled song disguised as an easy listen, but upon diving deeper, the singer is really untying all of her grief and accepting that there is a way to move on.
Purchase Don’t Let The Kids Win here.
