It\u2019s amazing how blanketing, reverb-drenched guitars can tug at the heartstrings and lift your spirits with equal emotion. Australian singer-songwriter Harriette Pilbeam, who performs as Hatchie, has tapped into these two modes throughout her entire career, but Liquorice is her first album where one doesn\u2019t overpower the other. By allowing her new songs to germinate for weeks on end, giving them the time needed to grow into gorgeous, ethereal immersiveness, Pilbeam has found the balance between maximalism and spaciousness.<\/p>\n
Previously, Pilbeam made her influences abundantly clear. Much of her glossy and prismatic sound is owed to the likes of Cocteau Twins and Mazzy Star. It\u2019s the pop talent she\u2019s less obviously drawn from, such as the Sundays, Carly Rae Jepsen, and Kylie Minogue, that have pushed her to be a standout in a sea of others merely parroting the essence of 90s dream pop. Acknowledging Pilbeam\u2019s inspirations may be at odds with her approach to Liquorice: Writing with no fixed destination, leaving any influences firmly stowed at the back of her mind. The result is the most Hatchie-sounding record, one that feels true to herself.<\/p>\n
Consequently, Liquorice is an apt title. These
\nsongs taste sweet, salty, and bitter all at once, like the titular
\nlolly, a fitting palate as Pilbeam faces both new and lost love. The
\nturning \u201cCarousel\u201d steadily bounces with lustrous, twinkly synths. Yet,
\nPilbeam puts a damper on the positivity by detailing fading romance:
\n\u201cThen I knew that everything I\u2019d ever wanted had passed \/ And I couldn\u2019t
\n help but laugh \/ All alone in my head.\u201d \u201cSage\u201d is more of a dreamy
\npop-rock affair, where Pilbeam asks for greater commitment: \u201cCan\u2019t you
\nsee it\u2019s more than just ecstasy? \/ You\u2019re falling in love with me,
\nfalling in love.\u201d The Britpoppy \u201cWonder\u201d is driven by whirring guitars,
\nbut contrary to the bright atmosphere, she bluntly anticipates an
\nimminent break-up: \u201cAnd I hate when you call cos it means that it\u2019s over
\n \/ I know what you\u2019ll say, you can spare me your sorry\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n
While the shoegaze-like guitar blasts are a Hatchie staple,
\n Pilbeam takes the opportunity to branch out further on this record.
\nOpener \u201cAnemoia\u201d strolls with its drum machine and keyboard groove,
\nserving as a welcome downtempo-y addition to her catalogue. The
\nrocketing synths paired with acoustic strumming on \u201cOnly One Laughing\u201d
\nmake it a stunningly textured pop song. The warm \u201cPart That Bleeds\u201d is a
\n true gem, with tinny hi-hats sitting above a bopping, nostalgic synth
\nbed and pronounced bassline, followed by huge choruses. It\u2019s a
\npush-and-pull of intimacy and distance, which embodies Liquorice: \u201cDon\u2019t want you to go, but you gotta go.\u201d<\/p>\n
On Liquorice, Pilbeam hits all the pleasure centres that
\n come with fiery new love, but also offers remedies for the comedown if
\nthe afterglow is sorely missed \u2013 that\u2019s if that infatuation fizzles out.
\n Her introspection has not only led to her most vulnerable and earnest
\nrecord but also a display of everything she has worked towards over her
\ncareer. Pilbeam has succeeded in creating the culmination of Hatchie;
\nnow is the best time to relish her bittersweet brilliance.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s amazing how blanketing, reverb-drenched guitars can tug at the heartstrings and lift your spirits with equal emotion.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":248586,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[96,128,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-248585","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-music","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom","12":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248585","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=248585"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248585\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/248586"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=248585"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=248585"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=248585"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}