The Echo Of My Hometown

Julia Jacklin “Love, Try Not To Let Go”

It took me a few listens to notice that a lot of “Love, Try Not to Let Go” is essentially the melody of Joy Division’s “Love Will Tear Us Apart” merged with the sound of Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams.” It could be entirely unintentional but I appreciate the way Julia Jacklin seems to place herself between these two beloved classics that both contrast grand romanticism and bone-deep cynicism and still come out declaring “love is all that I want now.” She knows the risks, and has decided the potential reward is worth the likelihood of eventually wondering why the bedroom has become so cold and listening carefully to the sound of your loneliness.

Jacklin gives us some glimpses into a life – a long abandoned home town, a memory of a party, a lingering fear of losing a sense of self – and it all points in the general direction of why she’s so ready to open her heart. In this song love isn’t a cure all, but it’s something that grounds you in the support you get and the support you give. But it’s so slippery, so elusive. When the song hits a louder staccato section – TRY NOT TO LET GO! TRY NOT TO LET GO! – it’s less like a catharsis and more like the song is flying through some severe turbulence.

Buy it from Bandcamp.