Hatchie
Liquorice
Secretly Canadian
Nov 06, 2025 Web Exclusive
Hatchie, aka Harriette Pilbeam, has always had a knack for making melancholy sound strangely uplifting. On her latest album Liquorice, she leans fully into the sound that made her name, delivering a record that plays to her considerable strengths.
The album opens in understated fashion with “Anemoia,” all hazy vocals and wistful lyrics. Things really take off with the sublime “Only One Laughing” and “Carousel,” which both sparkle like The Sundays’ long-lost cousins, located firmly in “I Kicked a Boy” and “Can’t Be Sure” territory. Sandwiched between those two songs is the title track, which, oddly, is the only moment that doesn’t quite land. It feels both a little undercooked and, conversely, slightly overthought compared to the rest of the record.
The soaring “Lose It Again” delivers an anthemic chorus the Gallagher brothers would have killed for back in the day, as Hatchie sings, “’Cause you are the star I’m chasing / So far, far apart, I’m here waiting.” It’s a kind of dream pop meets Britpop hybrid—mercifully without the mutton-fingered lad-rock swagger or unnecessarily bellicose nasal bellowing. These songs capture the overwhelming, exhilarating, and transforming side effects of infatuation, even if the love story ends after one magical night. Full of shimmery guitars and gauzy dream pop textures, it’s an album that channels the euphoric rush of early Hatchie, but with the benefit of experience. After the glistening dreampop of 2022’s Giving the World Away, Liquorice feels more grounded and optimistic—still cinematic, but with the neon filter dialled back to something warmer and more natural. Having stepped away from touring to actually live a little, Pilbeam sounds like she’s found her equilibrium, less concerned with racing toward a destination and more content to enjoy the journey. From the sugar-sweet rush of “Stuck” to the taut, driving “Wonder,” to the evocative “Someone Else’s News,” there’s plenty to admire here.
Produced by Melina Duterte (aka Jay Som), Liquorice radiates a wistful warmth and a nostalgic sense of longing. Duterte is clearly on Hatchie’s wavelength, with deft production that ensures the album remains romantic without tipping into cloying sweetness, dreamy without drifting, and sharp enough to let Pilbeam’s melodies shine without ever feeling fussy or overdone. (www.hatchie.net)
Author rating: 8/10
Average reader rating: 8/10
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