Marika Hackman – ‘Big Sigh’ album review: A tender and triumphant magnum opus
THE SKINNY: Considering that Marika Hackman played every instrument on her new album, bar the string and brass sections, you might expect Big Sigh to be a small and soft creature, the kind of thing made in a basement, stripped back to a beautiful yet manageable package that one artist could chip away at alone.
This chipping process is exactly what Hackman has been doing since the 2019 album Any Human Friend. In the heart of lockdown, she wondered if she would ever make music again, feeling isolated from the studio, her collaborators, and the industry as a whole. Therefore, it feels fitting that now she’s emerged with what instantly feels like a new career best, and it was done solo.
But Big Sigh is not the small, solo basement album you’d expect, and that golden centre she was chipping away in search of for years wasn’t just a glimmer; it was something grand. Balancing boldness with intimacy, drama and tenderness: the record is a tightrope act of artistry that only someone of Hackman’s calibre could pull off. Moving between moments of sparsity to let her emotive lyrics take centre stage, the record swells to something vast in the next moment. Expanding on all previous releases, it has the lyrical depth and left-field indie energy she has always delivered but elevates it to new and stunning levels.
The inclusion of orchestral moments soundtrack Hackman’s innermost feelings to a cinematic extent. As she digs her fingers into the guts of a feeling, dissecting moments of heartbreak, denial and lust, she tears them apart until they feel fascinatingly new and even more brutal than before. With each and every detail of the record written, performed and controlled by Hackman, even the most minute inclusions are another cohesive and beautiful extension of the whole. A prime example of what happens when you let a talented artist take the wheel and keep control of their work.
For Fans Of: Intellectualising and romanticising the deep dark emotions that are currently ruining your day, and never managing to go no contact with your ex.
A concluding comment from Tom’s mother: “She reminds me of my daughter when she was 20. Frankly, an absolute nightmare to be around. But the songs are really good, in their own dark, quite scary way.”
Big Sigh track by track:
Release Date: 12 January | Producer: Marika Hackman and Sam Petts-Davies | Label: Chrysalis Records
‘The Ground’: A swelling overture that sets the tone of what’s to come. As classical pianos and strings meet atmospheric details, Hackman opens the curtain to this world of anxiety, overthought and analysis with each distorted vocal. “I was happy for a while” echoes like the ultimate statement on sad endings. [3/5]
‘No Caffeine’: From the atmospheric to the outright, Hackman dives into a chugging and spiralling to-do list to keep panic attacks at bay. Another prime example of why she’s an indie forerunner, ‘No Caffeine’ is energetic but interesting, big enough to sing along to but still introspective to intensity. [4/5]
‘Big Sigh’: “I’ve been bad / I’ve been better,” Hackman sings as the tagline to the entire album. As a grunge cut that attempts to untangle a web of depressed dependency, the explosion of the chorus expands the record onto a bigger stage. [4/5]
‘Blood’: A song about obsessive love as a bandaid for something and wanting to drink someone’s blood to avoid your own living, breathing existence. Throughout the record, Hackman has such a way of explaining tricky in-between moments and feelings, and ‘Blood’ is a prime example. [4/5]
‘Hanging’: No song better summarises Big Sigh than ‘Hanging’. Starting as an utterly devastating ballad as she sings, “I must have done something to deserve to feel this sad,” the song spirals into something huge. Bursting open at the three-minute mark, the musical crescendo serves as a further catharsis as she seems to wail and purge even more through her instrumental. [5/5]
‘The Lonely House’: The decision to chase ‘Hanging’ up with an instrument is masterful and speaks to an artist with a tight vision and grip on making it happen. This moment to breathe and soak in what you just heard makes both tracks all the more powerful. See them as a pair – never, ever shuffle. [5/5]
‘Vitamins’: Visceral in its absolutely gut-wrenching simplicity. Housing some of her most emotionally brutal lyricism, the name drop of her partner proves just how radically honest the artist was being here. Paired with winding and hypnotic guitars, this weird little number is captivating. [3/5]
‘Slime’: Easily one of Hackman’s finest songs to date, ‘Slime’ takes the themes of Any Human Friend and gets right in their guts. As the guitars come in, they at once should both cheekily teasing and totally brutal. A take on lust that digs its teeth in and rips it all apart; it’s gross, sexy and glorious. [5/5]
‘Please Don’t Be So Kind’: This song should come with a health and safety warning for anyone heartbroken to proceed with caution. Navigating anxious attachment with pure poetry, it’s a prime example of Hackman’s ability to pick apart and play with the tricky in-betweens of not quite a breakup song but something close. Half begging for love and half begging for mercy, this song is on its knees as a surprising emotional climax. [5/5]
‘The Yellow Mile’: A final victory lap in a totally different way, ‘The Yellow Mile’ is the antithesis of the album opener as it remains folky and soft. Ending the emotional and sonic journey Big Sigh takes you on; it’s like a hand taking yours and walking you out of the dark and scary maze of feelings held within the record. [3/5]
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