I Cost More Than You Earn

Julia Jacklin “Leadlight”

Julia Jacklin isn’t breaking the mold with anything about the melody, structure, or style of this song, but everything about this song is executed with a seemingly tossed-off elegance that impresses the hell out of me. It’s a bit like how you wouldn’t criticize gorgeous handwriting because the person holding the pen was using the letters and words and sentence structure of a language, you know? This song is all about the contours of the melody, and how it sways gently between its changes, and the way Jacklin’s voice tips from sweet to sardonic and back again within two lines. I’m especially fond of this very Peter Buck-ish bit getting towards the end, but then, of course I’m going to be a mark for anything with a passing similarity to “Strange Currencies.”

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