Last month, we saw Marika Hackman perform “Cinnamon,” one of three original songs off her new Sugar Blind EP. With help from producer Charlie Andrew (of Alt-J), the London singer-songwriter broadens the hushed scope common among today’s many folk devotees, inflecting a tune’s subtleties with an occasional pop rhythm, synth-scapes, and other off-kilter arrangement choices. This cover of Joanna Newsom’s Have One On Me track “’81” closes out the EP with less dramatic flair than preceding cuts, though still adding an instrumental depth left unexplored on the solo-harp original. Covering Newsom is no easy feat, but Hackman’s take is moving and lovely, not to mention proof Charlie Andrew’s production work should not go unnoticed going forward. Hear it above and stream the whole set below:
