13th Floor New Song of the Day: Julia Jacklin – to Perth Before The Border Closes

Julia Jacklin joins the Sub Pop Singles Club with this double-sided delight.

The “A” side is a lovely little thing called to Perth Before The Border Closes in which Julia reminds us that, “everything changes”.

On the flipside is...Cry.

Our friends at Sub Pop have sent us this blurb for your enjoyment:

In mid-March, Julia Jacklin was one show from finishing a 12-month world tour for her widely celebrated sophomore album Crushing, when Australia’s prime minister announced the country would be restricting large gatherings due to Covid-19. Within a week, the closure of state borders meant a snap decision about where to base for the next month, and since then, a planned 3-month break from touring has turned indefinite.

The wild ride of the Crushing album release, five years of non-stop touring, and the unexpected turns of 2020 are all context for a very timely 7” release with renowned Seattle label Sub Pop.

On A-side “to Perth, before the border closes”, Jacklin says “I’ve moved around a lot the last 5 years; chasing things, love, work, something new, whatever and there’s always this fear that I’m leaving good things behind just to go somewhere else and be lonely. Whispering “everything changes” to myself helps get me to sleep at night. I started writing this song in Melbourne and finished it in Perth. It was like a little song bridge between the two cities to make the change easier.”

B-side “CRY” is a Dolly Parton-inspired stream-of-consciousness, with lush harmonies, showcasing the band who play across both songs, Perth friends Jennifer Aslett, Christ Wright and Jacob Diamond.

Jacklin recorded the 7” with old friend and Perth producer Ryan Brennan, who was the first person she ever recorded with 9 years ago when the pair were housemates, and Jacklin notes that she could “really see how we’ve both changed and grown over that period of time. It was really special.”

The singles are available to Singles Club subscribers as limited-edition 7” singles (subscriptions are nearly sold-out!), and are available now at all digital music services.

Julia Jacklin’s sophomore album Crushing earned her global acclaim, winning best Bluegrass/Folk album at the 2019 Libera Awards and Best Blues & Roots Album at the recent AIR awards. It also received 6x ARIA Award nominations in 2019 and 3x Australian Independent Music Award nominations. It was named one of the best albums of the year by outlets all over the globe including Pitchfork, NPR, Consequence of Sound, The AU Review (#1), Double J, The Skinny, Loud and Quiet, Paste Magazine, Uncut, Resident and many more. Jacklin sold out shows across North America, the UK and Australia and her songs have been shared and performed by everyone from Lana Del Ray to Elton John, Kendall Jenner and Brie Larson.