Crushing is the second studio album by Australian singer-songwriter Julia Jacklin. It was released in February 2019 under Polyvinyl Record Co., Transgressive Records and Liberation Records.

Crushing
Studio album by
Released22 February 2019 (2019-02-22)
Length39:24
Label
ProducerBurke Reid
Julia Jacklin chronology
Don't Let the Kids Win
(2016)
Crushing
(2019)
Pre Pleasure
(2022)
Singles from Crushing
  1. "Body"
    Released: 3 October 2018[1]
  2. "Head Alone"
    Released: 8 November 2018[2]
  3. "Pressure to Party"
    Released: 24 January 2019[3]
  4. "Comfort"
    Released: 14 February 2019[4]
  5. "Don't Know How To Keep Loving You"
    Released: October 2019[5]

At the ARIA Music Awards of 2019, the album was nominated for six awards; Best Female Artist, Best Adult Contemporary Album, Best Independent Release, Producer of the Year, Engineer of the Year and Best Cover Art.[6] At the AIR Awards of 2020, the album won Best Independent Blues and Roots Album or EP.[7]

Critical reception

edit
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?8.1/10[8]
Metacritic85/100[9]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [10]
Chicago Tribune    [11]
The Daily Telegraph     [12]
The Independent     [13]
Mojo     [14]
NME     [15]
The Observer     [16]
Pitchfork7.7/10[17]
Q     [18]
Rolling Stone     [19]

At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 85, based on 24 reviews.[9] Helen Brown of The Independent gave the album a perfect score, calling it "Grunge-rinsed, feminist-flipped, upcycled Fifties guitar an' all: Crushing is a triumph".[13] Neil McCormick of The Daily Telegraph praised the album, giving it a perfect score and saying, "As a body of work, Crushing feels small, intimate and inward. But these are big songs, full of big ideas, from a big talent."[12] Jonathan Bernstein of Rolling Stone described it as a "subdued yet arresting LP that blends sweet indie-pop with folk introspection and delicate piano balladry, as Jacklin offers up concise self-realizations without fuss or fanfare."[19] Adriane Pontecorvo of PopMatters gave the album a positive review, saying, "Life, love, heartbreak: none of it is particularly novel as musical material, but on Crushing, Julia Jacklin lets us learn from her experiences with her heart on her sleeve. There is a valuable perspective here, and truly moving music."[20]

In a year-end essay for Slate, Ann Powers cited Crushing as one of her favorite albums from 2019 and proof that the format is not dead but rather undergoing a "metamorphosis". She added that concept albums had reemerged through the culturally-relevant autobiographical narratives of artists such as Jacklin, who "redefined the edges of intimacy within the singer-songwriter mode on Crushing, which considers how women set boundaries and constantly face the violation of them, not just in love but in every aspect of their lives".[21]

Track listing

edit

All tracks are written by Julia Jacklin

No.TitleLength
1."Body"5:07
2."Head Alone"2:58
3."Pressure to Party"3:02
4."Don't Know How to Keep Loving You"5:32
5."When the Family Flies In"4:00
6."Convention"3:16
7."Good Guy"4:11
8."You Were Right"2:22
9."Turn Me Down"5:49
10."Comfort"3:07
Total length:39:24

Personnel

edit

Credits adapted from liner notes.[22]

  • Julia Jacklin – vocals, guitar
  • Georgia Mulligan – backing vocals (2, 5)
  • Blain Cunneen – guitar
  • Dominic Rizzo – piano, assistant engineer
  • Clayton Allen – drums
  • Harry Fuller – bass guitar
  • Burke Reid – production, mixing, engineering
  • Guy Davie – mastering
  • Nick Mckk – photography
  • Mel Baxter – layout

Charts

edit
Chart (2019) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[23] 8
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[24] 156
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[25] 22
Scottish Albums (OCC)[26] 29
UK Albums (OCC)[27] 67

References

edit
  1. ^ Guilbault, Kristy (3 October 2018). "One Song Considered: Julia Jacklin's 'Body'". NPR.
  2. ^ "First Spin: Julia Jacklin shares 'Head Alone', announces new album and tour". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 8 November 2018.
  3. ^ "Julia Jacklin shares propulsive new single "Pressure to Party": Stream". 24 January 2019.
  4. ^ Walker, Jerad (14 February 2019). "Julia Jacklin Makes a 'Crushing' Statement of Self". NPR.
  5. ^ "Julia Jacklin - Don't Know How To Keep Loving You (Official Video)". YouTube. October 2019. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  6. ^ "ARIA Awards: 2019 ARIA Awards Nominated Artists Revealed". Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). 10 October 2019. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
  7. ^ "That's a wrap: 2020 AIR Awards winners and celebrations". the industry observer. 1 October 2020. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
  8. ^ "Crushing by Julia Jacklin reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
  9. ^ a b "Crushing by Julia Jacklin Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
  10. ^ Donelson, Marcy. "Crushing – Julia Jacklin". AllMusic. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
  11. ^ Kot, Greg (1 March 2019). "Julia Jacklin zeroes in on the uncomfortable truth". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
  12. ^ a b McCormick, Neil (21 February 2019). "Crushing, Julia Jacklin, review: songs that stop you in your tracks". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 25 February 2019.
  13. ^ a b Brown, Helen (22 February 2019). "Julia Jacklin, Crushing, album review: A masterclass in narrative songwriting". The Independent. Retrieved 25 February 2019.
  14. ^ Segal, Victoria (March 2019). "Julia Jacklin: Crushing". Mojo. No. 304. p. 91.
  15. ^ Hunt, El (20 February 2019). "Julia Jacklin – 'Crushing' review". NME. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
  16. ^ Mackay, Emily (24 February 2019). "Julia Jacklin: Crushing review – ghostly, rollicking second album". The Observer. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
  17. ^ Horn, Olivia (27 February 2019). "Julia Jacklin: Crushing". Pitchfork. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
  18. ^ Catchpole, Chris (April 2019). "Scar Tissue". Q. No. 396. p. 112.
  19. ^ a b Bernstein, Jonathan (22 February 2019). "Review: Aussie Singer-Songwriter Julia Jacklin Makes Her Breakthrough With 'Crushing'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
  20. ^ Pontecorvo, Adriane (20 February 2019). "Julia Jacklin Lays Bare Experiences with Love and Heartbreak on Frank New album 'Crushing'". PopMatters. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
  21. ^ Powers, Ann (17 December 2019). "The album is evolving". Slate. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
  22. ^ Crushing (Liner notes). Julia Jacklin. Liberation Records. 2019. LRLP0008.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  23. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Julia Jacklin – Crushing". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 March 2019.
  24. ^ "Ultratop.be – Julia Jacklin – Crushing" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 March 2019.
  25. ^ "Charts.nz – Julia Jacklin – Crushing". Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
  26. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 2, 2019.
  27. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2 March 2019.