Harkin - Harkin
by Zena Grieg
published: 13 / 7 / 2020
Label:
Harkin
Format: CD
intro
Excellent combination of pop and atmospheric electronica on debut album from Leeds-born musician Katie Harkin
‘Harkin’ is the debut album of Leeds-born Katie Harkin, who previously toured with Sleater-Kinney, Wild Beasts, Flock of Dimes, Kurt Vile and Courtney Barnett. She also performed backing vocals for Dua Lipa on ‘Saturday Night Live’ and composed for the Turner Prize winning artist Helen Marten and comedian Josie Long. Harkin wrote her debut album between borrowed rooms while touring and, as she puts it, “in a cottage among the howling moors of The Peak District National Park, searching for a sound that combined the eeriness of the English countryside with the pace of the mechanized world… Many of these songs grew from the tension between opposites. Between the wilderness and the city, between self-examination and communal ecstatic, night and day, love and shame.” 'Harkin' includes a collection of well-crafted indie pop songs. Highlights include the up-tempo singles ‘Nothing the Light Can’t Change', a love song inspired by the North of England, with its insinuating chorus, gothic-like post-punk guitar riffs and thudding percussion; ‘Dial It In’, a song about “valuing intuition over entitlement”, propelled by its driving bass, the insistent message about not just going through the motions – “ No, you can’t just dial it in” - contrasting with the understated texture of the song; while ‘Red Virginia Creeper’ gives a different complexion with its experimental fusion of electronic sound, keyboards and feedback. All are carried competently by Harkin’s weathered, melodic voice. Shifting capably between polished pop and atmospheric electronics, this is a debut album of note.
Track Listing:-
1 Mist on Glass2 Nothing the Night Can't Change
3 Decade
4 Up to Speed
5 Bristling
6 Dial It In
7 Red Virginia Creeper
8 Sun, Stay With Me
9 New France
10 Charm and Tedium
most viewed articles
current edition
The Church - Interview with Steve KilbeyIn Dreams Begin Responsibilities - #15- On Being Dignified and Old aka Ten Tips From Jah Wobble On How To Be Happy.
Simon Heavisides - Destiny Stopped Screaming: The Life and Times of Adrian Borland
Secret Shine - Interview
Vetchinsky Settings - Interview
Repomen - Ten Songs That Made Me Love...
Jack Roscoe - Interview
Sami Sumner - Interview
Near Jazz Experience - Interview
Flaming Stars - Interview
most viewed reviews
current edition
Lewis 'Burner' Pugh - Bullets for BreadIan Hunter - Defiance Part 2: Fiction
Kula Shaker - Natural Magick
Hillbilly Moon Explosion - Back in Time
Inutili - A Love Supreme
Smalltown Tigers - Crush On You
My Life Story - Loving You is Killing Me
David Cross Band - Ice Blue Silver Sky
Beyonce - Cowboy Carter
Ty Segall - Three Bells
Pennyblackmusic Regular Contributors
Adrian Janes
Amanda J. Window
Andrew Twambley
Anthony Dhanendran
Benjamin Howarth
Cila Warncke
Daniel Cressey
Darren Aston
Dastardly
Dave Goodwin
Denzil Watson
Dominic B. Simpson
Eoghan Lyng
Fiona Hutchings
Harry Sherriff
Helen Tipping
Jamie Rowland
John Clarkson
Julie Cruickshank
Kimberly Bright
Lisa Torem
Maarten Schiethart