I’ve been a fan of Marika Hackman’s English folky sound for some months now, and I’ve been anticipating her debut ‘We Slept At Last’ to be the ultimate dreamy album. It’s somewhat different to what I usually go for, but it’s beautifully crafted and Marika Hackman is probably my favourite artist in this kind of genre.
The album kicks off with ‘Drown’, a track with beautiful guitar melody and ghostly vocals, which sets the tone for the rest of the album. It’s the perfect Sunday afternoon vibe, or if you just need to chill, this album is the one. Poetic lyrics accompany the whole album, such as ‘you can polish me for hours/but I’ll always look best in your head’, sung on the lead track ‘Drown’. The writing of this album is very clever (I felt like I was reading Shakespeare and I am in no way an English Literature buff!).
‘Animal Fear’ is a track that I’ve been enjoying for quite a while, and it’s one of the most upbeat on the album. I’d describe this track as quirky folk, and although it also has some pretty heavy lyrics, I feel like this track is the most fun that Marika has on the album and the change of tempo is appreciated after tracks ‘Skin’ and ‘Claude’s Girl’. Other tracks such as ‘Monday Afternoon’ build on Hackman’s own harmonies with woodwind instruments and strings, which the album needed as it can feel a little samey at times. It’s a really nice addition to the tracks. Although I’ve categorised Hackman as ‘folk’, ‘We Slept At Last’ is much darker than what you would expect. Track ‘Undone, Undressed’ reflects this – it’s very slow and hard to get into and I’m not 100% sure that I’m a fan of it.
My favourite track on the album is probably ‘Ophelia’. The lyrics are much more prominent and its plodding guitar melody matched with these is really appealing. I find that the track builds more than other tracks on the album. ‘Ophelia’ is a sweet love song and one that I’d recommend to listen to from the album.
‘We Slept At Last’ from Marika Hackman is all-in-all a beautiful album; its dreamy melodies and intense lyrics make the album sound so atmospheric. Though I’d suggest that at points it is slightly ‘samey’, ‘We Slept At Last’ is an album I’d recommend to anyone as its arty nature is so captivating. It was even my Valentine’s present from me to myself. Enjoy!
~ Ceri-Ann Hughes