Marika Hackman - Cigarette

On fleeting glance, at least, ‘Cigarette’ has far more in common with debut album Marika Hackman than anything else she’s shared from ‘I’m Not Your Man’ so far. Taking a hefty drag of delicately plucked acoustic guitar, and watching the melodies tumble away in wisps of smoke, it’s a thoughtful, reflective song, less self-combusting, and more gently smouldering. Still, while ‘Cigarette’ might mark a step back from the bombast of ‘Boyfriend,’ ‘My Lover Cindy’ and the climactic, crashing surge that ends ‘Violet,’ it’s actually got little in common with her debut ‘We Left At Last’. Lyrically it’s a stark affair, painting the scene of an argument in a carpark; with minimal brushstrokes. “Turn to the headlight glare, cry and pretend you care, I love it when we make a scene,” Marika sings, her verses thin on detail and letting the gaps do the talking. “Something to talk about, rather than fuck and shout, maybe we could go to sleep.” A brilliantly spare song, that captures all the frustration of two people who can’t quite spit their words out, ‘Cigarette’ might seem elusive at first, but it’s got all the welly of her other singles.