I’ve covered Julia Jacklin a few times on my YouTube Channel now, taking a look at both her 2019 LP Crushing and this year’s Pre Pleasure, so I’m no stranger to the Australian artist. Today, I’m going to hone in on one of my favorites from her; it’s her 7-inch offering from Sub Pop Singles Club Vol. 5 with “To Perth Before the Border Closes” on the A-side and “Cry” on the B. As with most, if not all Sub Pop Singles Club releases, this was pressed to colored wax (clear vinyl for this one) and limited to 1,000 copies.
Sub Pop Singles Club Vol 5 featured your standard Singles Club offering of 12 seven-inch singles released (for the most part) one per month for a year. It began in April 2020 and culminated in February 2021. Standard issues at production plants and the like shifted when various months came out, so it appears it may have either started late or ended early.
Julia Jacklin’s single was released December 2020, pressed to clear vinyl, though Discogs lists the release as taking place in October 2020.
Unboxing Sub Pop Singles Club Volume 5
First, I love that the green on the cover is reminiscent of the green on her 2019 album Crushing, which had a similar green on the cover and was pressed to green vinyl. The photos are credited on the back to one Nick Mckk. Many singles come with simple fold-over sleeves, but this one has closed ends, which gives it a higher quality look and feel.
Take a look at my unboxing video here:
I love that my copy, which I purchased used for about $40, had notes from the previous owner on a generic inner sleeve. I talk a little about it in the video above, and share what all they wrote (for the most part, as their handwriting isn’t the most legible).
The Most 2020 Song Ever
“To Perth Before the Border Closes” was very indicative of what the world experienced in 2020 and 2021. Just reading the title of the song takes me back to the anxiety and the uncertainty we saw as the pandemic took hold. And if you were overseas or away from home as countries closed their borders, those feelings were undoubtedly heightened significantly.
It’s a great song, and ultimately one of my favorites from Julia Jacklin, perhaps only topped by “Don’t Know How to Keep Loving You” off Crushing. Take a listen below:
“Cry” from the B-side, is just pure gold in terms of what the previous owner of my 7-inch wrote: they called it a “Country-ish Story Song About Crying.” And that it is.
In “Cry” Jacklin talks about suppressing emotions around people–roommates–she doesn’t know too well. She sings about not wanting to cry in their presence, which also takes me back to experiences of 2020 and 2021.
Overall, this is one of my favorite 7-inch singles in my collection. It was well worth the $40 I paid for it, and not because it’s essentially doubled in price.
