After her rather mediocre second album GIVING THE WORLD AWAY, Australian singer/songwriter Hatchie seemed like she would quietly disappear into obscurity. With LIQUORICE, Harriette Pilbeam makes it clear that she has exactly the opposite in mind. What sounded a bit vague and indecisive three years ago is now taking on a clearer form. Or maybe two, at least: Hatchie has always had a penchant for shoegaze and all things indie, and none other than Cocteau Twin Robin Guthrie remixed her song “Sure” a few years ago.
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In the new tracks “Carousel”, “Wonder” and “Sage”, Hatchie himself dares to sound very close to Britpop heroines like Lush, packing the most beautiful melodies into atmospheric guitar walls made of cotton candy fluff and Gitanes smoke. The opener “Anemonia” is a dreamy synth clicker-clack ballad with an unexpectedly abrupt ending, the bittersweet “Only One Laughing” is reminiscent of Scottish indie bands of the late eighties like The Motorcycle Boy.
In the midst of all these role models, Pilbeam increasingly finds her own voice and her identity. And it’s no longer so delicate and gentle (okay, but now and then), but has biographical cracks and stains that suit her dream pop very well. In the final track, the anthemic “Stuck,” Hatchie self-critically accuses herself of being stuck in the past. Doesn’t sound like that at all.
This review first appeared in Musikexpress 12/2025.