It seems somewhat corny to talk of artists going on a ‘journey’ or ‘discovering themselves but over these last few years. Marika Hackman has had such a journey. What makes it even more incredible is that the seismic yet gradual shift from ‘the next Marling’ tag into deeper, darker and stranger territory has all happened before she even released a debut album via a string of increasingly confident (and brilliant) EPs. Now the album has arrived and for the last 11 days Marika Hackman has been premiering each and every track from her incredible debut album “We Slept At Last”. For those of you that have been following the drip feed of songs, you’ll know that “We Slept At Last” is something approaching a masterpiece. Dark, lyrically dense and dripping with ominous musical backing, it is a collection of songs with staggering depth.
The album’s final moment, ‘Let Me In’. A bleak lyrical world is delved into immediately, running over the top of plucked acoustic guitar patterns. Hackman sings “the air out here is thick and I’ve grown thin / been choking on the wind / retching through my skin”, one of many times that she aims her lyrical crosshair at the lesser talked about aspects of human biology. As the chorus glides into view, Hackman’s voice rises to a lifted melody, briefly adding streaks of light into the darkness singing “I could be the light, blaze my own damn trail and you’ll follow” before almost immediatly slamming down the shutters and putting up the barriers, adding “To a cruel hard heartland / I’m a cruel hard heartland.”
It’s always been very clear that Marika Hackman is an artist whose waters run deeper than the standard fare of many of her contempories. “We Slept At Last” sees her confirm this over 12 dramatic songs, the culmination of journey thats been thrilling to follow. One of the most staggering debut albums of recent years.
The Fat Angel Sings 