Musician Marika Hackman is one of the most qualified and beloved representatives of art music in general and British indie-rock in particular.
Recorded in 2023 but released on January 12, 2024 five years after the previous "Any Human Friend" for Sub Pop Records, "Big Sigh" (the first work released on the Chrysalis record label) is an album of exquisite lyricism and sophisticated sounds. Aside from strings and brass, all instruments are played by the record's owner: vocals, piano (the real and only protagonist of the instrumental "The Lonely House"), guitar, bass, drums, percussion, choirs, synthesizer, programming, and sarangi (a stringed instrument used mainly in Indian classical music).
All ten tracks on "Big Sigh" were composed by Hackman and paint, with often delicate and never superficial tints, moments of falling in love, advice for coping with panic attacks, and toxic undertones of shattered relationships.
"Big Sigh" is co-produced by Marika Hackman with longtime collaborator Charlie Andrew (Alt-J, Wolf Alice) and with Sam Petts-Davies (Thom Yorke, Warpaint).