The second full-length album from Australian singer/songwriterJulia Jacklin,Crushingembodies every possible meaning of its title word. Its an album formed from sheer intensity of feeling, an in-the-moment narrative of heartbreak and infatuation. And with her storytelling centered on bodies and crossed boundaries and smothering closeness,Crushingreveals how our physical experience of the world shapes and sometimes distorts our inner lives.

This album came from spending two years touring and being in a relationship, and feeling like I never had any space of my own, says the Melbourne-based artist. For a long time I felt like my head was full of fear and my body was just this functional thing that carried me from point A to B, and writing these songs was like rejoining the two.

The follow-up to her 2016 debutDont Let the Kids Win,Crushingfinds Jacklin continually acknowledging whats expected of her, then gracefully rejecting those expectations. As a result, the album invites self-examination and a possible shift in the listeners way of getting around the worldan effect that has everything to do with Jacklins openness about her own experience.

I used to be so worried about seeming demanding that Id put up with anything, which I think is commonyou want to be chill and cool, but it ends up taking so much of your emotional energy, says Jacklin. Now Ive gotten used to calling out things Im not okay with, instead of just burying my feelings to make it easier on everyone. Ive realized that in order to keep the peace, you have to speak up for yourself and say what you really want.

Produced by Burke Reid (Courtney Barnett, The Drones) and recorded at The Grove Studios (a bushland hideaway built by INXS Garry Gary Beers),Crushingsets Jacklins understated defiance against a raw yet luminous sonic backdrop. In all the songs, you can hear every sound from every instrument; you can hear my throat and hear me breathing, she says. It was really important to me that you can hear everything for the whole record, without any studio tricks getting in the way.