3 Ways Julia Jacklin’s Songwriting Changed After Her First Album

She stopped writing characters and started writing about herself. Her first album, Don’t Let the Kids Win, relied on third-person stories and vignettes. By Pre Pleasure, the “I” in her songs is almost always her, with direct confessions instead of fictional scenes.

She writes in real time instead of polishing for likability. Songs like “Complex” are uncomfortable self-examinations. She stopped worrying about making the narrator likeable, prioritizing emotional truth over crafted charm.

Her songs got shorter and tighter with no wasted lines. The shift from storytelling to confession made the lyrics more immediate. It’s the sound of someone who stopped performing for the listener.