The effervescent talent Julia Jacklin has returned with ‘Body’, a melancholic tale of defeat and acceptance. It’s certainly a more subdued offering from the Australian songwriter, but it’s also incredibly elegant and each line sounds purposeful and poetic in its directness. As Jacklin adds: “The song speaks for itself I think, but I'd say it's just a very long and exaggerated sigh - born from feelings of powerlessness when it comes to the impossible task of representing yourself the way you think is right; personally and professionally. When you feel like everything is for the taking no matter what you do." This sigh-ful slow dance is made ever more poignant with the music video of an aimless road trip through an area known as the Hay Plain. This landscape has been featured in Jacklin’s debut album Don’t Let The Kids Win, and so it’s clearly a place close to the songwriter’s own identity. Perhaps that’s more revealed in the wandering, searching music video directed by long-term collaborator Nick McKinlay, as described by Julia Jacklin as “a driving one, destination unknown.” It’s beautifully cinematic and effectively simple, much like the line “I guess it’s just my life, / and it’s just my body.” After this, the listener is left to reflect on this character’s betrayal of self, and whether we too have given up on our own value to the forces that be. - Hannah Thacker