I'm Not Your Man

Marika Hackman - I'm Not Your Man
Critic Score
Based on 22 reviews
2017 Ratings: #164 / 940
User Score
Based on 186 ratings
2017 Rank: #313
Liked by 18 people
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CRITIC REVIEWS

100
DIY

Witty, sexy, confident, and charged with live energy, ‘I’m Not Your Man’ is the sound of Marika Hackman making the album she always needed to make.

90
The 405

I’m Not Your Man is an album of complete gay abandon, an artist freeing herself in every aspect of her process and we could not be happier.

90
Sputnikmusic

A forthright treatise on sexuality and relationships, told with an uncanny sense of comedic timing and a penchant for reaching for the throat with its hooks, arrangements, and, most resoundingly, its lyrics.

90
God Is in the TV

The outcome though is that the album works so well on every level, the quality control as ever is astonishing; I’m Not Your Man is a fantastic addition to the catalogue of this most singular artist.

87
GIGsoup

‘I’m Not Your Man’ sees Marika Hackman’s talent shine brighter than before, strongly showing skill, powerful storytelling and a strapping sense of artistic direction.

85
The Line of Best Fit
Her new found confidence comes through in spades here and the end product is a record that shines with a captivating vibrancy.
80
The Guardian
Make no mistake: this is a fiercer Hackman, joining the ranks of Wolf Alice and letting her inner swagger shine.
80
Evening Standard
Adroit touches of grunge, Nineties-style indie and even Britpop perhaps betray her formative musical influences. As a songwriter, though, Hackman has come of age on this arresting and emotionally charged album.
80
Dork
Naturally moreish and rich, ‘I’m Not Your Man’ is Marika Hackman’s ticket to the big time.
80
The Skinny

Not abandoning her folk roots entirely, I’m Not Your Man proves an emotional and sonic progression for Hackman, a record that at its best is affecting and fun.

80
No Ripcord

I’m Not Your Man is a meandering undercurrent of predatory slyness, advancing with a slack but completely controlled swagger.

80
AllMusic
Musically and thematically, she's cast off the watery vagueness of her debut for a more robust sound and unflinching lyricism.
80
musicOMH

She may have lost the kooky melodrama and charm that she enveloped earlier on, but I’m Not Your Man feels strangely right, if quite startling in its shift in direction.

75
Pitchfork

The London singer’s sophomore album is a bracing, darkly funny blend of folk and Britpop. Her tactile lyrics keep the songs melodically strong and full of surprises.

75
Spectrum Culture
It’s less of a reinvention and more of a defiant resolve to create the music she wants to create, genre pigeonholing be damned.
70
Loud and Quiet
Tremendous fun, they warrant the London-based musician’s decision to employ The Big Moon as her backing band on a number of tracks. Yet if their influence is a little too transparent at times, the transition to a raucous sound is more nuanced than this suggests.
70
Crack Magazine
Where once there were dark, rarefied folk atmospheres, now there’s a louder sense of life and energy, shaped in the form of an unintended concept album about the different stages of a relationship, from falling in love to the goodbye that follows the harsh realisation that it’s just not meant to be.
70
Under the Radar
There's nothing out of the ordinary found in these personal illustrations. Yet the balance of measure in production (by Charlie Andrew, who has worked with alt-J) accompanying the cool coating effect of Hackman's singing and carriage of writing is disarming.
60
The Observer
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.
60
Record Collector

Reinvention is fine in a singer, so long as the new guise is worn with purpose. Marika Hackman surprised doubters with the Summerisle folk of 2015 debut We Slept At Last, and the follow-up promises another turn, this time into spiky alt-rock turf. But it’s only a partial gear shift, as if Hackman isn’t sure of her preferred or most effective speed or setting.

Felix_96
80

8/10

exceptional

Fav tracks: Boyfriend, Good Intentions, My Lover Cindy, Round We Go, Violet, Cigarette, Time's Been Reckless, Apple Tree, So Long, AM, Majesty

esttherfairy
87

her songwriting is v reminiscent of pj harvey's to me

JoberthBribies
76

Boyfriend — 8.7
Good Intentions — 8.3
Gina’s World — 7
My Lover Cindy — 8.3
Round We Go — 7.4
Violet — 7.2
Cigarette — 6.1
Time’s Been Reckless — 8.7
Apple Tree — 7.2
So Long — 8.5
Eastbound Train — 7.8
Blahblahblah — 6.5
I’d Rather Be With Them — 7.6
AM — 8.2
Majesty — 7.8
|
likes: 13/15
overall final score: 76.86
favs: Time’s Been Reckless • Boyfriend • So Long • My ... read more

Felix_96
80

8/10

exceptional

Fav tracks: Boyfriend, Good Intentions, My Lover Cindy, Round We Go, Violet, Cigarette, Time's Been Reckless, Apple Tree, So Long, AM, Majesty

JoberthBribies
76

Boyfriend — 8.7
Good Intentions — 8.3
Gina’s World — 7
My Lover Cindy — 8.3
Round We Go — 7.4
Violet — 7.2
Cigarette — 6.1
Time’s Been Reckless — 8.7
Apple Tree — 7.2
So Long — 8.5
Eastbound Train — 7.8
Blahblahblah — 6.5
I’d Rather Be With Them — 7.6
AM — 8.2
Majesty — 7.8
|
likes: 13/15
overall final score: 76.86
favs: Time’s Been Reckless • Boyfriend • So Long • My ... read more

holsgr
30

questionable (★★☆☆☆)

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Added on: February 23, 2017