Hatchie - Liquorice [LP]

The cover of Liquorice, the third album from Australian indie popartist Hatchie, features a closely cropped portrait of HarriettePilbeam laughing, her smudged red lipstick suggesting the gloriousaftermath of a kiss. Captured during a spontaneous backyard photoshoot using a dinky digital camera, the image encapsulates arecord that is rough around the edges and joyfully undone withthemes of longing, lust, and regret.Pilbeam began writing Liquorice in earnest while living in Brisbaneover 2022-2023, and later at a home shared with Agius inMelbourne, ultimately completing the demos in mid-2024. As amusician who has previously worn her influences on her sleeve,Pilbeam strove to write from scratch without any specific musicalinfluences in mind; allowing songs to breathe for weeks, rather thanrushing ideas. She found herself drawn to the melodic simplicity ofher early songs and embraced her musical insecurities: "I wanted tosee my limitations as strengths that inform my style."After working with producers Jorge Elbrecht (Caroline Polachek,Japanese Breakfast, Sky Ferreira) and Dan Nigro (Olivia Rodrigo,Chappell Roan) on Giving the World Away, Pilbeam wanted tocomplete Liquorice with a single collaborator, ideally a non-maleproducer who also fronts their own musical project. In September2024, Pilbeam and Agius returned to Los Angeles to work withMelina Duterte, who records indie rock under the name Jay Somand has production credits on an assortment of projects includingthe GRAMMY-winning boygenius album the record."My last album ended up being really dark and introspective andthat is one part of me, but there was this whole other side that I feltlike I wasn't expressing," Pilbeam says. "I'm a hopeless romanticand a very silly person, sometimes to a fault." Now 32 and married,Pilbeam found that "eternal feelings" of yearning and heartachequickly rushed back as she reflected on her experiences as ayounger woman. At the same time, she channeled her fondness fortragic romance movies where the characters do not necessarily finda happy ending together.Liquorice is preoccupied with the finite forever. These songs capturethe overwhelming, exhilarating, and transforming side-effects ofinfatuation, even if the entirety of the love story only lasts for onemagical night. Like the rich flavors of the twisty, titularcandy-sweet, salty, and bitter all in one bite-Liquorice validateshow longing and obsession are intertwined in the self-discovery ofyoung womanhood.