The album was recorded
entirely in Melbourne with co-producer Robert Muinos at Rat Shack
studios, a space located above a Collingwood bar also called The Gem.
Jacklin brought in friends Jacob Diamond (guitar), Mimi Gilbert (bass) ,and Jess Elwood (drums), and the sessions stretched to nearly a year –
far longer than the two weeks she had originally planned.
“The
Gem felt like a metaphor for the whole process, because a lot of it did
feel like digging,” Jacklin says. “I felt like I was doing it almost in
the dark, just trusting I was going to find something.”
The
bar itself had become a touchstone for Jacklin early in her time in
Melbourne. She describes discovering a small venue where bands pushed
dining tables aside to set up on the floor, forcing herself out of her
comfort zone to make the city her home. That same spirit of
close-quarters collaboration shaped the recording: the band worked in
converted hotel rooms above the pub, with sound bleed from the
hairdresser next door and live music from downstairs. They played
two unannounced shows at The Gem to test the songs before committing
them to tape.
Jacklin will preview material from The Gem
with a short solo tour of UK and Irish indie stores later this month,
including dates in Brighton (Resident, 29 June), London (Rough Trade
East, 30 June), Liverpool (Jacaranda, 2 July) and Nottingham (Rough
Trade, 3 July). A wider North American, UK and European tour follows
from October 2026 through 2027, including a London show at Eventim
Apollo on 19 February 2027.
On
the final day of sessions, the band got matching tattoos: a small
circle representing an opal, Jacklin’s favourite gemstone, inked by one
of the bartenders from The Gem. “It did really feel like we’d done
something special together,” she says. “I’m glad we all have these
little gems on us.”
This is Jacklin’s first original studio work since the lauded 2022 album Pre Pleasure, which earned dozens of award nominations, including Best Solo Artist, Best Independent Release, and Best Adult Contemporary Album. Moving to 4AD for The Gem marks a break with her previous label home of Polyvinyl x Transgressive, which put out her first three records.
