MUSIC | Records
ALBUM OF THE ISSUE
ELECTRO-FOLK MARIKA HACKMAN I’m Not Your Man (Sub Pop) ●●●●● When Marika Hackman first released ‘Boyfriend’ as a single, it was an early indication of her intention to broach new territory in the follow-up to her 2015 debut. The heavily sarcastic and tongue-in- cheek track departs from the innocence and sombre warmth of We Slept at Last,
hinting at something bolder and more unashamedly forthright.
‘Boyfriend’, an ode to female empowerment, opens I’m Not Your Man with a clear ‘don’t fuck with me’ attitude, humorously and sardonically depicting the pains of being in a queer relationship. The song’s sunny disposition is mimicked elsewhere in ‘My Lover Cindy’, ‘Time’s Been Reckless’ and ‘Eastbound Train’, but underneath the peppy indie-pop choruses and upbeat melodies often lies a feeling of cynicism and a confidence that uncovers deeper themes. On tracks like ‘Good Intentions’, you can hear the grunge influences
seeping in with fuzzy, screeching guitar lines and off-kilter string bends. The softly sung ‘Gina’s World’ similarly harks back to the 90s, landing somewhere in between Nirvana’s ‘Polly’ and Hole’s ‘Doll Parts’. Some of the album’s finest moments arrive when Hackman’s vocals are isolated, as on ‘Cigarette’ with its gentle finger-picked guitar accompaniment while the acoustic guitar on ‘I’d Rather Be With Them’ shadows Hackman's soothing voice, beguiling harmonies and dark lyrics.
I’m Not Your Man is certainly more audacious in its overall structure and discussions than Hackman’s debut, demonstrating a previously unseen adventurousness in her compositions. Signalling a liberation of sorts, themes like femininity and sexual identity are dissected in a way that is unrestrained but still highly creative. (Arusa Qureshi) ■ Out Fri 2 Jun.
ELECTRO POP MARNIE Strange Words and Weird Wars (Disco Pinata) ●●●●●
Helen Marnie is best known for her place in the icy cool lineup of Liverpool’s Ladytron. Those enigmatic boy-girl synthbots were last spotted in 2011, but have recently intimated their not-a-moment-too-soon return to action, in order to wrestle synth pop from the feeble grip of the likes of Years & Years. In the interim, Marnie returned to her native Glasgow, from where she set to work on her solo debut Crystal World. The elegantly produced follow-up Strange Words and Weird Wars has been a long time coming but packs a pop purity that would ring true and confident in any age. Despite the intriguing title, this is pop music through and through. There’s an inevitable kinship with other solo synth divas such as Grimes and Ladyhawke, who combine love of a good tune with playful or more adventurous soundscapes, but Marnie is sleeker still, thanks to her pure vocals and cleaner production. Such is her ear for a catchy hook that she could even give Lady Gaga a run for her money with the likes of ‘Invisible Girl’.
Among various retro flirtations, ‘G.I.R.L.S.’ is a call to female revolution in an attractive New Romantic package, while Marnie harks back to the heyday of Belinda Carlisle with the slick 80s pop of ‘Electric Youth’, the kind of track you would expect to hear over the closing credits of a John Hughes film. Likewise, the dreamy echo-laden robo-pop of ‘Summer Boys’ and ‘Heartbreak Kid’ mine the same wistful teen territory as Lana Del Rey without ladling on the
vintage cultural references.
The album is not all disposable bubblegum; there are darker shadows to get lost in, from the classy retro-futurist electroscape of ‘Lost Maps’ to the atmospheric torch song ‘A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night’. Named after the Iranian vampire movie, the latter tune layers up Marnie’s vocals to rhapsodic effect and provides a welcome variety in texture while still sitting comfortably in this cohesive collection. (Fiona Shepherd) ■ Out Fri 2 Jun.
ROCK PUBLIC SERVICE BROADCASTING Every Valley (Play It Again Sam) ●●●●● COUNTRY THE SECRET SISTERS You Don’t Own Me Anymore (New West Records) ●●●●●
With second album The Race for Space, Public Service Broadcasting succeeded in paying homage to one of humankind’s greatest endeavours. For Every Valley, the band returns to take on a different piece of history, using a signature amalgamation of guitars, electronics and vintage samples to tell the story of mining in South Wales and its progress, demise and unfortunate aftermath. The album wistfully traces industrial decline, beginning with the glorious eruption
of tremolo strings in its title track, signifying the ‘kings of the underworld’ in their heyday. This positivity continues in ‘The Pit’, ‘People Always Need Coal’ and finally ‘Progress’, a tribute to resilience and determination, with Tracyanne Campbell’s soaring vocals coalescing with the samples to stress a firm belief in the prevailing power of progress. The album’s turning point comes at ‘Go to the Road’, which details the closure of a pit followed by ‘All Out’, with the discontent of the miners’ strike represented aptly in the driving and spitting guitar lines. As well as adding their own unique touch, the guest appearances are carefully chosen to match the tone of each story being told. James Dean Bradfield offers an anthemic and spirited refrain in ‘Turn No More’ while album highlight ‘You + Me’ features Lisa Jen Brown singing in Welsh, accompanied by simple and quiet Latin-style instrumentation and rhythms. It provides the album’s most beautiful moment; a point of reflection amid cries of perseverance. Closing track ‘Take Me Home’, an old miner’s song sung by an all-male choir, has a similar effect in its emphasis on memory and the idea of returning to a familiar place.
Though the leap from the immensity of space to coal mining in South Wales may seem unusual, Every Valley allows Public Service Broadcasting to once again demonstrate their worth as researchers and storytellers, charting the story of one community to highlight the plight of many all around the world. (Arusa Qureshi) ■ Out Fri 7 Jul.
90 THE LIST 1 Jun–31 Aug 2017
There’s no shortage of sister harmony outfits in roots music, with the Pierces, the Staves, and Joseph all charming audiences in the past few years. But the discovery of the Secret Sisters at an open audition in Nashville rings like a story from a bygone age. When they first emerged to instant recognition in 2009, Laura and Lydia Rogers were a candy-striped retro dream and a bluegrass Beverley Sisters. Sumptuous singers in their own right, this ravishing double act put a female harmony spin on an old-time folk and country repertoire. But that story includes hard times, menial jobs and legal tussles once they
were dropped by their label, mercifully followed by a lifeline in the form of fellow country roots lover Brandi Carlile, who swooped in to produce this delicious and sweetly defiant third album. The Secret Sisters have responded to their travails with a lightness of touch, sidestepping the temptation to embrace a brash modern pop style purely for greater commercial returns.
They showcase their heavenly harmonies from the off on the mournful intro to ‘Tennessee River Runs Low’ before the song perks up to a cutesy jaunt with Lydia’s soprano ringing as clear as mountain air. They flirt briefly with a more contemporary country sound while sticking with the rivers on the moody ‘Mississippi’ but the spirit of Kitty Wells pervades ‘King Cotton’, a honky-tonk hymn to their home state of Alabama.
Their obvious skills as singers are best served when they can inject some doe-eyed blues into their music: the bittersweet ballad ‘Carry Me’ and lullaby lament ‘To All the Girls Who Cry’ are exquisitely sad. And even ‘Little Again’, for all its breezy whistling coda, carries a certain nostalgic weight in its desire to return to simpler days, while the haunting country gospel of ‘Flee as a Bird’ ensures this album ends in the arms of angels. (Fiona Shepherd) ■ Out Fri 9 Jun.