Marika Hackman - I'm Not Your Man

Rating:

There’s pure fun around every hook.

You know that feeling when an album comes along and manages to sound different yet undeniably natural at the same time? It’s pretty special right? Being able to head in a certain direction that manages to capture everything vital from their journey to date, yet packaged all in a bold and shimmering new flavour is something we all want to hear. For Marika Hackman, debut LP ‘We Slept At Last’ was an alluring introduction into a world of spine-tingling pulls and fragile glory, one that had us all heading into the palm of her hand. Yet with ‘I’m Not You Man’, Marika manages to take that vulnerability and shift it into a record full of carefree, undeniable and immediate hooks that may just well find Marika hitting the strides and sound she’s been destined to create.

Fizzing with energy and unabashed in its every turn, ‘I’m Not Your Man’ is a record full of natural instincts. With The Big Moon in tow, there’s pure fun around every hook - the infectious chimes and breakdowns of ‘Boyfriend’ and ‘Good Intentions’ surging with a grunge urgency while ‘My Lover Cindy’ and ‘So Long’ sit as prime melting pots that take indie flicks and dial them up to a level that make them essential go-to’s for blissed-out days in the sun. Every moment is distinctly Marika, a statement of individuality and modern-day swagger that bristles with that feeling of a moment that can’t be described. Grounded and real, tracks like ‘Cigarette’ and ‘Apple Tree’ are odes of stripped honesty, ‘Blahblahblah’ sounds like a lost ‘Revolver’ track from The Beatles spun through 2017’s loudspeaker and ‘Time’s Been Reckless’ has a singalong hook that’ll be screamed in bigger and bigger venues in the months and years to come.

More than anything ‘I’m Not Your Man’ is the sound of Marika Hackman making a statement. A statement that pushes her to the forefront with an album that dazzles and welcomes anyone in with open arms, and lays out a path for the artist and role she’s destined to become. Naturally moreish and rich, ‘I’m Not Your Man’ is Marika Hackman’s ticket to the big time. Jamie Muir