“Oh I am bold as brass posing as gold” seems a fitting line for Marika Hackman to open her debut album, for beneath the gentle timbre of her mellifluous whisper lies a maturity and depth, subtly veiled by the beauty and richness of her music.
Having already released four EPs since 2012, ‘We Slept At Last’ finally cements Hackman’s status and reveals, through its many layers, a polished writer and performer of a new form of folk.
While the immediate parallels drawn to Laura Marling made by many commentators may seem obvious, they are purely surface level comparisons as Hackman’s style and delivery are unique, belonging to a genre all their own.
Produced by Charlie Andrew (Alt-J, Darwin Deez), ‘We Slept at Last’ is a true collaboration between the two and, with a lack of creative restraint, has resulted in a highly innovative yet cohesive album. While the songs themselves are captivating tales overflowing with ethereal melodies and emotive harmonies, it’s their augmentation that adds the elusive shades and tones and raises them to a whole new level.
The rolling acoustic guitar of ‘Drown’ is sustained by eerie pulsating synths that enhance the claustrophobic lyrics to produce an air of menace (“I’d choke on you if I could, Maybe I will.”). ‘Next Year’ meanwhile – lying somewhere between The Unthanks and Midlake but with a middle 8 that could’ve been written by Elliott Smith – is enveloped in swathes of harmonies and synth flutes that disguise the complex meter and enrich the Celtic mood allowing Hackman space in which to weave her measured musings.
Much like her attitude to making music, Hackman’s approach to lyrics and lyrical themes is uninhibited. There is a real sense of freedom here and a principle that anything can be the root of a song’s inspiration. ‘Animal Fear’ for instance was initially about turning into a werewolf and being afraid of oneself during the transformation. “I’ve been weeping silent like a wound, won’t you stitch me up, or let the blood soak through?” she sighs tenderly; the lingering melody cloaking the Gothic undertone yet without sounding remotely forced or peculiar.
And then there is ‘Monday Afternoon’, seemingly about a girl who is murdered by her lover and her body left to rot in the woods (“lay on your back, breathe it in, The sickly sweet of my rotting skin”. Set to a melody that could be mistaken for a 15th Century traditional folk song, it still sounds contemporary with its charming refrain and the delectable sweeping strings.
‘We Slept at Last’ is undoubtedly an ambitious statement and yet confidently and deliberately understated. And it flaunts its wide ranging influences with assurance, from Renaissance music to electro-folk via Linda Perhacs and Vashti Bunyan. It’s both bold and beautiful yet somehow discreet and self-effacing.
Without doubt Marika Hackman is a name and voice you are going to be hearing a lot in 2015.
