Julia Jacklin Shares New Single ‘If I Had The Hand Of God’
Australian songwriter Julia Jacklin will release her new studio album The Gem on Friday 25 September, ahead of which she has shared the record’s final single, ‘If I Had The Hand Of God’.
Written following a surreal trip to Nashville, the track reflects on life as a touring musician and questions the importance of legacy.
The Gem was produced by Jacklin and Robert Muinos and recorded entirely in Melbourne. The 10-track album will be released worldwide on digital platforms, CD, cassette and vinyl.
Limited-colour vinyl editions will also be available through selected retailers in Turquoise, Green Opal, Ruby and Rose Quartz variants.
The story behind The Gem
For Jacklin, The Gem grew from questions surrounding freedom, love and finding a sense of belonging.
“I want to love and be loved, but I also want to be free. The tension between those two things has been the central question of my life,” Jacklin says.
The album takes its name from a bar in Melbourne's Collingwood district that Jacklin discovered after moving to the city from Sydney in 2017.
The venue became an important part of Jacklin's life in Melbourne. Years later, it also became the setting for the recording of her fourth solo album.
Following three previous records — Don't Let The Kids Win (2016), Crushing (2019) and PRE PLEASURE (2022) — Jacklin began working on The Gem while between record-label contracts and looking for new management.
Rather than leaving Melbourne to record, she decided to make the album at home, working with Robert Muinos, owner of Rat Shack Studios, located above The Gem.
Jacklin was joined by Jacob Diamond on guitar, Mimi Gilbert on bass and Jess Elwood on drums. Recording took place in converted hotel rooms above the pub, with the environment providing an unconventional backdrop for the sessions.
The band had to work around the restrictions of the residential venue, including neighbours, activity at nearby businesses, music from downstairs and the day-to-day noise of the pub.
What was initially expected to take around two weeks instead developed into a process lasting almost a year.
“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 sessions eventually resulted in what Jacklin describes as a record about excavation, reinvention and trusting her instincts.
The connection between the album and its namesake venue was also marked by the band getting matching tattoos on the final day of recording, representing an opal — Jacklin's favourite gemstone.
“It did really feel like we'd done something special together,” Jacklin says. “And I think as a group, it felt important to commemorate it.”
Julia Jacklin tour dates
Jacklin will support The Gem with a series of North American, UK and European dates beginning in October 2026 and continuing into 2027.
2026
20 October – San Diego, CA, USA – The Observatory North Park
22 October – Los Angeles, CA, USA – The Wiltern
23 October – San Francisco, CA, USA – The Castro Theatre — SOLD OUT
24 October – San Francisco, CA, USA – The Castro Theatre
26 October – Portland, OR, USA – Crystal Ballroom — SOLD OUT
27 October – Vancouver, Canada – Commodore Ballroom
28 October – Seattle, WA, USA – The Moore Theatre
30 October – Salt Lake City, UT, USA – Metro Music Hall
31 October – Denver, CO, USA – Gothic Theatre
2 November – Dallas, TX, USA – Studio at Bomb Factory
3 November – Austin, TX, USA – Radio/East
4 November – Houston, TX, USA – White Oak Music Hall (Downstairs)
6 November – Atlanta, GA, USA – Variety Playhouse
7 November – Nashville, TN, USA – Brooklyn Bowl
9 November – Raleigh, NC, USA – Cat's Cradle
10 November – Washington, D.C., USA – Lincoln Theatre
11 November – Pittsburgh, PA, USA – Mr. Small's Theatre
13 November – Minneapolis, MN, USA – First Avenue
14 November – Chicago, IL, USA – The Riviera Theatre
15 November – Toronto, Canada – Danforth Music Hall
17 November – Montreal, Canada – Théâtre Beanfield
19 November – Brooklyn, NY, USA – Brooklyn Paramount
20 November – Boston, MA, USA – Royale
21 November – Philadelphia, PA, USA – Union Transfer
30 November – Liverpool, UK – Jacaranda — rescheduled solo in-store show and signing
1 December – Nottingham, UK – Rough Trade — rescheduled solo in-store show and signing
2027
13 February – Birmingham, UK – Town Hall
14 February – Manchester, UK – Albert Hall
15 February – Dublin, Ireland – National Stadium
17 February – Glasgow, UK – Barrowland Ballroom
18 February – Bristol, UK – Beacon
19 February – London, UK – Eventim Apollo
21 February – Brussels, Belgium – Botanique
22 February – Berlin, Germany – Festsaal Kreuzberg
23 February – Hamburg, Germany – Kent Club
24 February – Copenhagen, Denmark – DR Koncerthuset
26 February – Amsterdam, Netherlands – Paradiso
27 February – Paris, France – Cabaret Sauvage
1 March – Barcelona, Spain – La [2] de Apolo
2 March – Madrid, Spain – Sala Mon Live
3 March – Lisbon, Portugal – LAV
Image credit by Jess Ellwood