Lande Hekt has quietly become one of the UK’s best underground songwriters. On her 2021 debut full-length “Going To Hell” and 2022’s “House Without A View“, she explored her queer identity, sobriety, and childhood trauma through the lens of heartfelt, conversational indie-pop, which led to spots opening for the likes of Alvvays, Throwing Muses and The Beths.
Her new album “Lucky Now”, written and recorded with producer Matthew Simms (Wire, It Hugs Back), reflects the most mature and confident version of Hekt yet. “I’m not as concerned about how I’m presenting myself,” Hekt says. “I’ve tried to think less about how things are coming across, and just write songs that make me feel connected to myself and what I value.”
Hekt’s musical touchstones — The Wedding Present, The Sundays, The Replacements — remain the same, but at the same time she’s delved deeper into other influences. “Lucky Now” is indebted to 1980s twee-pop and jangle-pop like The Pastels, Tallulah Gosh and The Bats, plus more modern iterations of the sound such as Autocamper and Jeanines, in its ecstatic, soaring melodies and gorgeous, tactile guitars.
The sound is fitting for Hekt’s new lyrical outlook, where, though despair and anxiety rear their heads, she digs deep to find the gratitude. “I wanted to try and push for something slightly more positive, which I’m trying to do more of generally — just to not fall apart.”
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