Hatchie - Keepsake

Hatchie - Keepsake dream pop 2019

Australia's Harriette Pilbeam aka Hatchie released Sugar and Spice in 2018 which was a promising EP of lush, dreamy pop songs, it was a good start and she took attentions of so many people. Now, she has a LP, Keepsake. It is a dream pop album with a variety of techniques from various alternative subgenres. However, instead of lightness and charm, I got a very ordinary album, in which I simply have nothing to cling to unlike Sugar and Spice but this ordinary elements stuck in my mind in a good way. This album only has roots of 90's dream pop elements. Of course, one cannot ignore the many familiar elements from the work of other groups, in particular, such as Mazzy Star, Ride and Chapterhouse. In my opinion, the album is much closer to them than to like Cocteau Twins and My Bloody Valentine. And, it would seem, having such similarities you can expect a very strong album, this is not as powerful as them but this is still a good album. For me, this feels like the dream-pop version of modern act Charly Bliss. Less bubblegummy but still sticky and infectious in its clear ties to musical history. With these ties, there is a level of reverence that she clearly feels about this genre, and she is sharing with a new generation of music listeners. I would have loved for her to complicate the genre a little bit; everything sounds a little too comfortable and unchallenging. This isn't a bad thing, and she has a lot of space to grow as an artist. It does make the album feel slightly confined and indebted to a particular time. Regardless, Keepsake is a nice reminder of dream pop's affective power and it grew in me over and over time.

8/10