The Melbourne-based singer-songwriter Julia Jacklin released her great sophomore album Crushing in 2019. Since then, Jacklin has released one-off singles, collaborated with Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever and Christian Lee Hutson, and covered artists like Avril Lavigne, Björk, and Bill Fay. Today, Jacklin has announced that she’ll follow Crushing with her new album Pre-Pleasure, set to come out this summer. She’s also shared first single “Lydia Wears A Cross.”

Jacklin recorded Pre-Pleasure in Montreal with Marcus Paquin, a producer who’s worked with the National and the Weather Station. The Weather Station members Ben Whiteley and Will Kidman backed Jacklin up on the record, and Owen Pallett wrote string arrangements, which were recorded by an orchestra in Prague. Jacklin cites Céline Dion as a major influence on the record: “As someone relatively introverted and trying to be cool, Céline was a good person for me to lock onto during this period, because she’s definitely not that. She’s dramatic as hell and incredibly cheesy. I think listening to her helped me get over myself.”

First single “Lydia Wears A Cross” is a slow-building number. It starts with Jacklin singing over a rickety drum-machine, but by the time it’s over, we get strings and synths and drums coming in from every angle. On the song, Jacklin sings about being a kid, trying to understand Christianity by watching Jesus Christ Superstar: “I’d be a believer if it was all just song and dance/ I’d be a believer if I thought we had a chance.” Jacklin directed her own video for the song, and it was taped partly at Split Point Lighthouse in Victoria, Australia. Check out the “Lydia Wears A Cross” video and the Pre-Pleasure tracklist below.

TRACKLIST:
01 “Lydia Wears A Cross”
02 “Love, Try Not To Let Go”
03 “Ignore Tenderness”
04 “I Was Neon”
05 “Too In Love To Die”
06 “Less Of A Stranger”
07 “Moviegoer”
08 “Magic”
09 “Be Careful With Yourself”
10 “End Of A Friendship”

Pre-Pleasure is out 8/26 on Polyvinyl. Pre-order it here.