Crushing (album)

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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]

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.

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.