Description
Marika Hackman returns with her fifth album, False Dogs. Known for her unique lyrical perspective, vocal prowess, and distinctive guitar skills, Hackman again showcases her deft multi-instrumentalism, having played almost every instrument across her catalogue. Galvanised into fresh creation as the architect of her own sonic world, she navigates the spectrum of emotion that arises upon reaching life's milestones. Across the record, she explores grief, a deeper understanding of the passage of time, and the swell of appreciation towards a newfound safety, all cut through with strands of hope in the face of chaotic times.
As the producer behind the album, Hackman quietly pioneered her own production style through hours of playful experimentation at her East London studio. Armed with a small jazz kit, a few select microphones, and an esoteric instrument collection gathered over twenty years of music making, she took inspiration from the dry sense of realism and rawness of early noughties radio. Honed from almost entirely acoustic instruments, immediate drums offer a backbone to syncopated mandolins, earthy sub harmonium, urgent pianos, and layered strings arranged by Hackman herself.
The production was solidified at Ramsgate's Big Jelly Studios (aided by previous collaborator Charlie Andrew and Polly Mackey, aka Art School Girlfriend), making use of the converted chapel's acoustics and subtle field recordings of the Kent shoreline, fireworks, and church bells, before being mixed by David Wrench (The XX, Frank Ocean, Caribou).
Lyrically, Hackman introduces new characters that speak back to her. On the bittersweet opening track '33', a children's choir personifies nostalgic fear, while on 'Half Painted Dog', a reassuring choir responds to a love letter written to her pet. The record also features her most directly personal song to date, 'Hello Sunshine', a poignant ode to her grandmother set over strummed guitar and close-recorded bowed strings. Ultimately, False Dogs balances darkness with light, closing on 'Crimson' as a final landing place that offers small vignettes of everyday beauty.
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