{"product_id":"any-human-friend","title":"Any Human Friend","description":"\u003cp id=\"E67\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E68\"\u003e“\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E69\"\u003eh\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E70\"\u003eand \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E71\"\u003es\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E72\"\u003eolo,” “\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E73\"\u003eb\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E74\"\u003elow,” “\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E75\"\u003ec\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E76\"\u003eonventional \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E77\"\u003er\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E78\"\u003eide”—these are just a few of the cheeky offerings off \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E79\"\u003eAny Human Friend\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E80\"\u003e,\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E81\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E82\"\u003ethe new album from rock provocateur Marika Hackman. “This whole record is me diving into myself and peeling back the skin further and further, exposing myself in quite a big way. It can be quite sexual,” Hackman says. “It’s blunt, but not offensive. It’s mischievous.” There’s also depth to her carnal knowledge: \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E83\"\u003eAny Human Friend\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E84\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E88\"\u003eis ultimately about how, as she puts it, “We all have this lightness and darkness in us.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp id=\"E91\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E92\"\u003eHackman lifted the album’s title from a documentary about \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E93\"\u003efour-year-olds\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E94\"\u003e interacting with dementia patients in senior homes. At one point, two little girls confer about their experience there, with one musing on how it’s great to make “any human friend,” whether old or young. “When she said that it really touched a nerve in me,” says the London-based musician. “It’s that childlike view where we really accept people, are comfortable with their differences.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp id=\"E97\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E98\"\u003eSuch introspection has earned Hackman her name. Her folkie 2015 debut, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E99\"\u003eWe Slept at Last\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E100\"\u003e, was heralded for being nuanced and atmospheric. She really found her footing with her last release, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E101\"\u003eI’m Not Your Man\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E102\"\u003e—which earned raves from \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E103\"\u003eThe Guardian\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E104\"\u003e, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E105\"\u003eStereogum\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E106\"\u003e, and \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E107\"\u003ePitchfork\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E108\"\u003e—\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E109\"\u003eand its sybaritic, swaggering hit “Boyfriend,” which boasts of seducing away a straight guy’s girlfriend.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E110\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E111\"\u003e“Her tactile lyrics keep the songs melodically strong and full of surprises,” remarked \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E112\"\u003ePitchfork\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E113\"\u003e. We’ll say!\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp id=\"E116\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E117\"\u003e“I’m a hopeless romantic,” she explains. “I search for love and sexual experience, but also I’m terrified by it.” Hackman is a \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E118\"\u003eRid of Me\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E119\"\u003e-era\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E120\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E121\"\u003ePJ Harvey for the inclusive generation: unbounded by musical genre, a preternatural lyricist and tune-smith who isn’t afraid to \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E122\"\u003ego there\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E123\"\u003e. (Even her cover art,\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E124\"\u003e which finds Hackman nearly nude while cradling a baby pig, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E125\"\u003eis a nod to \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E126\"\u003eDutch photographer \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E127\"\u003eRineke Dijkstra\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E128\"\u003e’s unfiltered photos of mothers just after they gave birth.) \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E129\"\u003eTo that end, “\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E130\"\u003eh\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E131\"\u003eand \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E132\"\u003esolo\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E133\"\u003e” extols the virtues of masturbation\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E134\"\u003e and \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E135\"\u003e features Hackman’s favorite line, “Under patriarchal law, I’m going to die a virgin\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E136\"\u003e.” The song\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E137\"\u003e “\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E138\"\u003eb\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E139\"\u003elow” paints a picture of social excess. And “\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E140\"\u003ec\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E141\"\u003eonventional \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E142\"\u003er\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E143\"\u003eide” thumbs its nose at heterosexual sex through “the trope a lot of gay women experience: sleeping with someone, then it becomes apparent you’re kind of an experiment.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E144\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp id=\"E145\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E146\"\u003eWith \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E147\"\u003eAny Human Friend\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E148\"\u003e, boundaries are no longer an issue for her. “I sent ‘\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E149\"\u003ea\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E150\"\u003ell \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E151\"\u003en\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E152\"\u003eight’ to my parents and they were quite shocked,” she says of the paean to the flesh, dressed as a sweetly harmonic track. “Why does it sound shocking coming out of my mouth? Women have sex with each other, and it seems to me we aren’t as freely allowed to discuss that as men are. But at no point am I disrespecting the women I’m having sex with. It can be fucking sexy without banging people over the head with a frying pan. It’s sexy sex.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp id=\"E155\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E156\"\u003eSharing intimacies with her parents \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E157\"\u003esorta makes sense when you consider she wrote “the one”—a \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E158\"\u003eportrait of the artist amid identity crisis—\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E159\"\u003eand several other songs in her bedroom at their house, where she crashed after a \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E160\"\u003epainful break-up with a longtime girlfriend. “‘\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E161\"\u003es\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E162\"\u003eend \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E163\"\u003emy\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E164\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E165\"\u003el\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E166\"\u003eove’ is a proper breakup song,” she says of the levitating, string-laden track. “I actually wrote that in a moment of grief. It’s a strange take on it because I’m imagining myself as my ex-\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\"\u003egirlfriend.” She penned its companion track, “\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E167\"\u003eI\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E168\"\u003e’m \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E169\"\u003en\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E170\"\u003eot \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E171\"\u003ew\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E172\"\u003ehere \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E173\"\u003ey\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E174\"\u003eou \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E175\"\u003ea\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E176\"\u003ere,” a melodic ear-worm about emotional detachment from relationships, roughly six months later.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp id=\"E180\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E181\"\u003e“I think because my life was flipped upside down, it was taking me longer to write,” she says. “This was definitely the hardest process I’ve gone through to make a record.” She wrote the album over a year, recording a few songs at a time with co-producer David Wrench (Frank Ocean, The xx). “I stopped being able to sleep properly,” she says. “I was waking up in the middle of the night to write songs.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp id=\"E184\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E185\"\u003eBut \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E186\"\u003ethe longer recording process\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E187\"\u003e also meant that Hackman had the time to experiment in the studio\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E188\"\u003e, especially with electronic songs\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E189\"\u003e.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E190\"\u003e She was inspired by Wrench’s vast synth collection, many of which she used\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E191\"\u003e throughout \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E192\"\u003eAny Human Friend\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E193\"\u003e (“the synths give the album a nice shine”), notably on “\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E194\"\u003eh\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E195\"\u003eold \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E196\"\u003eo\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E197\"\u003en,” a deep dive into ennui expressed as ethereal R\u0026amp;B.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E198\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E199\"\u003eShe also switched up drum rhythms and wrote songs on the bass, such as the upbeat, idiosyncratic “\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E200\"\u003ec\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E201\"\u003eome \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E202\"\u003eu\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E203\"\u003endone” (working name: “Funky Little Thang”).\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp id=\"E207\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E208\"\u003eHackman bookends \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E209\"\u003eAny Human Friend\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E210\"\u003e with some of her most unexpected musical turns. The first song she wrote, “\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E211\"\u003et\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E212\"\u003ehe \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E213\"\u003eo\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E214\"\u003ene” (technically its second track), is “probably the poppiest song I’ve ever written\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E215\"\u003e,\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E216\"\u003e” she says. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E217\"\u003e“It’s about \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E218\"\u003ethat weird feeling of starting the process again from scratch\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E219\"\u003e.” To that end, it \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E220\"\u003efeatures a riot grrrl Greek chorus hurling such insults at her as, “You’re such an attention whore!” The title track closes out the album and explores how, “when we’re interacting with people, it’s like holding a mirror up to yourself.” It’s a weightless coda that’s jazz-like in its layering of rhythmic sounds as if you’re leisurely sorting through Hackman’s \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E221\"\u003eheadspace\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E222\"\u003e.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp id=\"E225\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"qowt-font2-Arial\" id=\"E226\"\u003e“The drive to do all this is all just about trying to work out what the fuck is in my brain,” she says, laughing. The dragon she’s chasing is a rarefied peace that materializes after properly tortured herself. “I really did have a good time working on this album,” she says, reassuringly. “It’s just emotionally draining to write music and constantly tap into your psyche. No musician is writing music for themselves to listen to. It’s a dialogue, a conversation, a connection. I’m creating something for people to react to.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Marika Hackman","offers":[{"title":"LP","offer_id":45919857442995,"sku":"qcb1788121177125","price":5.58,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Loser (color) LP","offer_id":45919857475763,"sku":"jtg1788121177126","price":12.24,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":45919857508531,"sku":"otw1788121177127","price":8.4,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Digital","offer_id":45919857541299,"sku":"pee1788121177128","price":6.8,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0714\/3558\/3667\/files\/any-human-friend_1.jpg?v=1788121183","url":"https:\/\/www.gardenpathgoods.shop\/products\/any-human-friend","provider":"My Store","version":"1.0","type":"link"}