By Esin Huseyin (esin_huseyin)
Marika Hackman has previously been dubbed the queen of electro folk, but this album blows her out of that category completely. She opens her long-anticipated debut album with the lyrics “Oh, I am bold,” and she’s not far off; this album is packed with 12 tracks bursting with eerie ambience.
The opening track ‘Drown’ lulls us with rhythmic, shimmering guitar riffs and ghostly vocals. The song explodes into a dark merging of plucky guitars and sinister bass notes, her ethereal vocals navigating its way through the notion of desire and bitter pain with lyrics like “I’d choke on you if I could”.
Hackman then demonstrates a more poetic and stripped back sound with the second track ‘Before I Sleep’. This airy song comes as a strong juxtaposition against the heavy feel of the first without losing the potency of its imagery. The song battles with the idea of the unknown, symbolised in the lyric “standing at the edge of the forest”.
Unlikely musical inspirations such as Nirvana make an appearance in ‘Open Wide’. This is the most upbeat song on the whole album as the song builds into an energised frenzy of droning guitars and almost psychedelic harmonies, Marika’s ghostly vocals creating not only a contrast to the melody, but adding depth.
‘Next Year’ makes medieval current, with an airy floating riff. This song feels slightly suffocating with its foreboding drums, incessant guitar strumming, and general busyness. Hackman refers to time throughout this track constantly, and the rhythm of the song helps keep this track not only afloat but in time.
Whether you’re an existing fan or a newcomer to Marika Hackman’s music, ‘We Slept At Last’ will resonate – dark themes and beautiful vocals aplenty, you’ll be reaching for the replay button.