During a challenging time, Marika Hackman penned the song Big Sigh. Faced with isolation and introspection during lockdown, the singer-songwriter from Hampshire persevered through a creative block until she had a breakthrough. This led to her first album of new material since the highly acclaimed Any Human Friend in 2019. However, unlike her previous album, which was bold and catchy, Hackman’s fourth studio album delves deeper into her inner thoughts. While there are moments of release, they are often overshadowed by melancholic piano breaks and dark lyrics.
Hackman’s unease makes itself felt from the bitter little chuckle that opens The Lonely House to the half-despairing pep talks she feeds herself in No Caffeine: “Scream into a bag, try to turn your brain off,” she murmurs over a pummelling bassline. Coping mechanisms are ditched in breakup ballad Hanging, in which she feels “pushed underwater” by grief. On the deadpan Vitamins, she dismisses her own body as “a sack of shit and oxygen”.
Hackman often explores themes of the human body, finding inspiration for horror movies in mundane situations. However, her fascination with blood and gore also represents a desire to escape her own thoughts and engage with the outside world. In her song “Slime,” she yearns to physically connect with someone, stating “I want to climb your spine, shake your mind, and feel your bones crack.”
Source: theguardian.com
