Julia Jacklin Shares New Single ‘The Hardest Thing’
The Australian songwriter previews her forthcoming fourth album The Gem with ‘The Hardest Thing’, accompanied by a one-shot video filmed above the Melbourne skyline.
Australian singer-songwriter Julia Jacklin has shared ‘The Hardest Thing’, the latest single from her forthcoming fourth studio album, The Gem.
Premiered by Jack Saunders on BBC Radio 1, the track is the third preview of the record following ‘I Wish’, featuring The Maes, and ‘Get Away From Me (I Think I’ll Love You Soon)’.
‘The Hardest Thing’ arrives alongside a striking one-shot video directed by Danny Cohen. Filmed entirely from a helicopter, the video follows Jacklin through the Melbourne cityscape from above.
The Gem is set for release on September 25 via 4AD and marks Jacklin’s first full-length record since 2022’s PRE PLEASURE. The album was produced by Jacklin alongside Robert Muinos and recorded at Rat Shack studios in Melbourne between December 2024 and December 2025.
The location has a particular significance for the record. Rat Shack sits above The Gem, a Collingwood pub Jacklin first discovered after moving from Sydney to Melbourne in 2017. Years later, she returned to the venue with Muinos and musicians Jacob Diamond, Mimi Gilbert and Jess Elwood to work on the album that would eventually take its name from the pub.
Initially expecting the sessions to take around two weeks, Jacklin and the band instead spent close to a year developing the record. The recording process even included two unannounced performances downstairs at The Gem, where the group tested out the new material before committing it to tape.
At the heart of the album is Jacklin’s attempt to reconcile intimacy with independence.
“I want to love and be loved, but I also want to be free. The tension between those two things has been the central question of my life,” Jacklin says of the record.
The 10-track The Gem will be available digitally and on CD, cassette and vinyl, including a number of coloured vinyl editions.
Jacklin will also head out on an extensive tour in support of the album, beginning with a North American run this October before arriving in the UK and Europe in early 2027. The UK dates include Birmingham Town Hall, Manchester’s Albert Hall, Glasgow’s Barrowland Ballroom, Bristol Beacon and a London show at Eventim Apollo on February 19.
Her previously postponed Liverpool and Nottingham in-store appearances have also been rescheduled for November 30 and December 1 respectively, with tickets for the original dates remaining valid.
