Jem Cassar-Daley Releases Debut Album 'tattoos used to come off in the pool'
Jem Cassar-Daley released her debut studio album, tattoos used to come off in the pool, on 28 August via Sony Music Australia and the Civilians record label, as confirmed by Billboard and Rolling Stone Australia. The nine-song collection includes four previously released singles: "Clichés," "Speak Now," "Cool Girl," and "All I'm Thinking About." Most of the album's tracks were lifted directly from their original demo recordings rather than rebuilt in the studio.
Cassar-Daley is a Gumbaynggirr and Bundjalung singer-songwriter whose career has been building steadily on the Australian independent circuit. She has won song of the year at the Queensland Music Awards twice — in 2024 for "King of Disappointment" and again in 2026 for "Kiss Me Like You're Leaving," which took out two categories. Her trophy cabinet also includes AIR (Australian Independent Record Labels Association) and National Indigenous Music Awards. Her father is country musician Troy Cassar-Daley.
On the live front, Cassar-Daley has sold out headline tours in each of the past three years — 2023, 2024 and 2025. She has performed at The Great Escape in the U.K. and at SXSW Sydney, both in 2023, and was most recently opening for Vera Blue on the Modern Rituals National Tour.
September will keep her on the road. She is booked to appear at BIGSOUND 2026 — the Brisbane industry conference and showcase festival — before embarking on a national headline tour stopping in Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane, with one show confirmed for Friday 25 September 2026, according to Countrytown. Her official website lists the album as available on CD or digital download for $21.99.
For fans, the album release caps a rollout that began when Cassar-Daley announced the record on her Instagram account in late July, followed by a video on her Facebook page marking release day. A debut album is the moment an artist's scattered singles stop being individual snapshots and start living as one statement. Whether these nine songs land that way for listeners is a question the coming weeks and the September tour will answer.
