Keepsake

This is a record destined to sit at the beginning of a promising legacy in years to come, as Hatchie continues to create jangling sonic comfort food far into the future.

Keepsake has an inexplicable familiarity even as it bursts with new ideas. It is a document capable of throwing us into our own pasts, the perfect score for the movies we make in our minds.

The industrial and atmospheric elements of the album all convey a sense of searching and often of rushing away from one thing and toward another. Even the blurred cover image of Hatchie suggests a feeling of constantly being in motion. It is through this searching and continual movement that Hatchie etches her own lines to define her persona through her music, constantly propelling herself and her ideas in new directions and trusting that we’ll keep up.

The album’s snappy 10 track run-list positively invites further plays, perpetuating this desire to keep the cycle going.

She writes and wears her heart on her sleeve, half-singing, half-sighing through her songs with wide-eyed candour, shining through such swoon-worthy dream- pop. At some point, you’ll wonder if it was Hatchie’s heartache and pain that was written about, or your own.

Keepsake marks an assertive, confident step forward for Hatchie and Pilbeam is well on her way to carving out her own storied path.

As Hatchie exceeds the expectations set by Sugar & Spice, Keepsake reflects her growth into an even more confident and varied artist.

While Pilbeam's gorgeous, dreamy melodies remain her main strength, a longer running time give her space to play with different ideas. [Jul 2019, p.29]

Keepsake is an assured debut, but what it reveals is Pilbeam has actually not yet realised her best self. Keepsake is at its best when not trying too hard for substance, and rather leaning into soaring choruses, as on Without a Blush.

She doesn’t experiment much throughout her debut, but Pilbeam knows what she does best and sticks to it throughout. Her dream pop niche in the indie rock world is sure to win her loads of new fans going forward, and with her debut, she establishes herself as not only one of its rising stars, but also one of its best songwriters.

Keepsake feels a bit more akin to a tentative step forward than a leap into the stratosphere, but for a debut it's stuffed with endless charm and promise.

Keepsake is an album filled with small, inspired moments like this, but they don’t add up to much. Sugary but hollow, Keepsake melts like cotton candy, dissolving on impact.

Individually, the songs are absorbing, but when listened back to back, they begin to lose their magic.