There’s a good reason cliches become cliches.
Take the saying: If you’re going through hell, keep going. It’s not just pithy. It’s true. At least, it seems like it was for Marika Hackman. The British singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist apparently went through a pretty massive bout of writer’s block a few years back. That had to be a special kind of hell for someone with her job. Not to mention her talent.
But to her credit, she didn’t pack it in. She kept going. And the impressive result is the superb and striking Big Sigh, her fourth full-length studio album of original material. Not surprisingly, there’s plenty of emotional blood on these 10 heartfelt, confessional tracks. But there’s also plenty of beauty and elegance and poise on display too — contrasted and complemented by noisy textures and edgy sonics and other artfully stylish touches. The only thing you won’t find: Cliches. Big sighs all around.
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “At the start of 2020, Marika Hackman hurtled into lockdown; stifled and isolated, her musical brain nullified. She had been in a constant cycle of write/record/press/tour for nine years, since the age of 19, and the eerie silence of stopping was agonising. Being with friends, swimming, collaborating and touring — everything Marika normally used to distract her mind from spiralling thoughts and feelings — had disappeared. She stopped writing songs.
As the months progressed, she accrued scraps of melodies but never felt that spectral hit of a fully formed song arriving in her brain. However, her never-ending pursuit of untangling her internal universe via music would eventually allow her to find her way back to the golden orb of creativity, trapped within a massive block of ice that had built up over the months of her writer’s block.
And so, four years after Marika’s last studio album Any Human Friend — a celebration of sexy fun and visceral, rank hotness — she revealed No Caffeine, a song that thrusts its listener right into the eye of the storm, listing what to do to avoid having a panic attack and looking at her anxiety as an abusive partner.
Not only did Marika play every instrument save for the brass and strings on the single, but she produced it too, along with additional production from Sam Petts Davies (Frank Ocean, Radiohead, Red Hot Chili Peppers) and longtime collaborator Charlie Andrew (Alt J, Wolf Alice, London Grammar).
Big Sigh brings together the best of Hackman’s previous works as an indie musician and adds a new layer of epic sounds and full-bodied production. Big Sigh is the “hardest record” Marika has ever made. As the title suggest, it is a relief of sorts — of sadness, of stress and lust, but mostly relief.
“This album took a long time to make. It was not easy, and by the time I got to the end of it I was quiet. I wanted to be away from it and let it sit in its own space. Now the dust has settled and I’ve got re-enter the world of Big Sigh, and I’m excited. Stepping into a new world, moving forward, chipping away. Breathe in, breathe out. Big sigh.”
