Julia Jacklin Releases Fourth Album ‘The Gem’

Australian singer-songwriter Julia Jacklin’s fourth album, The Gem, takes its name from a Melbourne pub where she found community after moving from Sydney and recorded the album in a studio upstairs. After touring and feeling worn down by the music industry, she stepped back, then scrapped an early version of the record because it felt technically polished but inauthentic. Made with longtime friends and collaborators, the album reflects a return to her home, relationships and creative instincts, with songs exploring fresh starts, love, loss and self-questioning. Its intimate, melodic indie-rock and folk sound was shaped in part by the unusual recording setting, where pub performances and kitchen noise sometimes interrupted sessions. The release also marks a new chapter for Jacklin, who has signed with British independent label 4AD while maintaining a thoughtful, introspective approach rather than chasing a bigger audience.