By James Queralt
Not knowing whether or not, when stepping out onto the stage of an unfamiliar venue, you’re going to be spending the next hour-and-a-half with a room of people who are fully on your side must be one of the more daunting prospects for an up-and-coming indie musician. Fortunately for Hampshire-born, London-based alt-rocker Marika Hackman, it was quickly apparent that the majority in attendance at Bullingdon’s 400 capacity live venue – known affectionately by locals as ‘the Back Room’ – were there to see one of their favourite artists of 2017.
As someone who only recently caught wind of Hackman’s work through her 2017 album I’m Not Your Man, I soon became aware that I was about to experience a performance of exceptional intimacy with a sell-out crowd whose relationship with her ran far deeper than my own. Luckily, that’s something which suits the Back Room down to the ground (and up to its low ceiling) as the boxed-in design of the venue, where the only real light comes from the stage itself, allows the audience to carry the momentum of the music themselves.
This phenomenon was particularly apparent during Hackman’s performance. The 25-year-old singer took to the stage in an oversized grey t-shirt and, slouched over her Fender, long blonde hair loosely covering her face, she somewhat resembled a young Beck or Kurt Cobain. This suited grunge-infused opener Good Intentions, one of a number of tracks off her latest record which serve to dispel the ‘Brit-folk’ label to which she is often, lazily, attached.
By the time the third track, the far more melodically twee My Lover Cindy came around, that audience momentum began to gather as the tongue-in-cheek humour of the lyrics, characteristic of much of Hackman’s latest work, resonated well. This created a notable shift to a more relaxed atmosphere, with banter beginning to fly back and forth between crowd and songstress. Even a heavily toned down version of an older track, 2015’s Bath is Black, couldn’t keep this down; one punter gleefully pointed out that Hackman’s guitarist’s eye shadow matched his guitar. “Thanks,” he responded. “That’s why I chose it.”
Hackman’s confidence swelled and reached its apex as she blared out new album opener Boyfriend, a song about a woman stealing the girlfriend of a complacent man who doesn’t take their affair seriously because he believes “a woman needs a man to make her shout.” Hackman responds by pointing out that the girlfriend prefers her thanks to her softer hands, because she “likes to moisturize.” This one is a real fan favourite, and the audience responded with joy.
Despite the punchier, more band-driven style that gives her new work much of its identity, a real highlight here, and one of the strongest tracks on the album, was Apple Tree: a Medieval-sounding ballad with tones of Laura Marling, whom Hackman has toured with twice. This coming during the encore was a fitting way to close the set, as it highlighted Hackman’s ability to stun an audience into submission, minutes after charming them with her combination of grungy riffs and razor-sharp wit that might just end up with her stealing your girlfriend.
Photo credit: @RichardBrabin
