Wisely deciding that spectral posh folk is probably a spent force, Hackman has abandoned the old-soul bandwagon in favour of making a raucous, honest 25-year-old’s racket. Her second album opens with lively laughter and the grungy, explosive, minxy Boyfriend, on which London’s the Big Moon help her to blow out cobwebs and preconceptions. Hackman’s new sound has a slackerish, sly swagger reminiscent of Courtney Barnett (or going back to the source, Liz Phair). She keeps the best of her former incarnation, too, on languid tracks such as Gina’s World or the Juliana Hatfield-esque rough-edged breeziness of My Lover Cindy, which bring balance and variety, and allow Hackman’s witty, sharp voice to cut through.
