Marika Hackman @ Castle & Falcon review

Tuesday 19th March saw Marika Hackman return to Birmingham as part of her ‘Big Sigh’ UK tour, with a packed-out audience at The Castle & Falcon. Bringing an air of cool confidence to the stage, it was a beautifully put-together demonstration of the versatility found within her songwriting.

Supporting Marika was Gia Ford, a rising artist hailing from Sheffield. Her new releases have taken a different artistic direction from the alt-pop projects she debuted under Dirty Hit in pre-pandemic times. Recent singles, ‘Poolside’ and ‘Alligator’, are sultry, dreamy and Americana-tinged - Ford keeps the audience captivated with her haunting melodies and smooth vocals. She showcases some unreleased songs to look forward to, such as a brilliant track on “Female Rage” (‘Paint Me Like A Woman’) which elicits a great reaction from the crowd. Gia definitely has a promising future and is one to watch out for. Her upcoming single ‘Loveshot’ is out on April 10th.

Hackman is introduced with Big Sigh opener ‘The Ground’, as the audience waits eagerly for her to appear. When the melancholy opening notes of her latest album’s lead single ‘No Caffeine’ play, Hackman and her band are greeted to the stage lovingly by an attentive audience.

Despite a couple of initial sound issues early on in the set, she laughs them off to a bandmate and simply signals to the engineer, marching on unfazed into her intimate-feeling set that showcases the true range in her discography. It’s this casual confidence that puts Hackman at home onstage. Alongside some ‘deep cuts’ (as she jokingly refers to them) from earlier albums, plenty of new album ‘Big Sigh’ is played. Accompanied by bright, fuzzy guitar tones and crisp harmonious backing vocals, Marika’s vocals shine through whether she’s lulling us with ‘Claude’s Girl’, or belting powerfully at the end of the titular track ‘Big Sigh’.

A noteworthy highlight of the set is the painful breakup ode ‘Hanging’, which begins with a brooding atmosphere, carrying the sombre intensity Hackman is known for, but later descends into a loud cathartic chant – “You were a part of me / I’m so relieved it hurts.” The set is also interjected with covers such as a moody rendition of Lykke Li’s ‘I Follow Rivers’ and Elliott Smith’s ‘Between The Bars’, which slot into the rest of the set perfectly. The brilliantly satirical ‘Boyfriend’ (a fan favourite) is played near the end of the set, bringing an upbeat twist.

Hackman has been on a steady upward climb in the indie world, continuing to establish herself as a dab-hand performer, ready to hop onstage and give her all on a quiet, rainy Tuesday night.

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