By Ian Bremner

Even with budding solo careers, sometimes getting your friends together and playing rock n roll music is all you really want to do. Julia Jacklin’s 2016 record Don’t Let The Kids Win is a fantastic confessional indie-folk album that only grows in acclaim as more and more people hear it. She is a bright new star in that world.

Jacklin makes her home in Sydney, Australia and had been playing with her 3 friends as Phantastic Ferniture over the years. The band formed as casually as the songs did. So the story goes: 10 friends were out drinking at the local pizza shop and vowed to join a band. Only 4 of them actually remembered the night and followed through with it. Jacklin, along with Elizabeth Hughes, Ryan K Brennan and Tom Stephens booked a gig and all but forgot about it. As the gig date approached, they realized they needed songs. Phantastic Ferniture, the band and the record, was more or less conceived from the direct result of best friends in a garage with their instruments. They took turns playing parts that had previously been foreign to them. Stephens on drums, Hughes on lead guitar. Jacklin, rock n roll front woman.

Phantastic Ferniture is just now getting a global introduction, but the fact is, they are already a staple in Sydney. They host an annual Christmas bonanza, play random shows around town and each member has their own solo projects.

Usually meticulous about word choice and poetry, Julia Jacklin took the opportunity to not worry about the lyrics as much and just have fun with her garage pop side project. The record’s spontaneity and looseness is the true core of the sound. It’s smooth, sexy, fun and carefree. Songs like Fuckin n Rollin and Bad Timing most illuminate the vibe of Phantastic Ferniture, but the record as a whole stands up to any new rock n roll record. It rocks, but it’s danceable. It’s a good soundtrack for city slickin’ around town, Sydney or otherwise.

Listen to Phantastic Ferniture via spotify