Hackitt is a solo project from Jack Pogson. He recently released a collection of tracks with slowcore, shoegaze and post punk influence entitled Take Care.
It’s hard not to mention reverb with this release because it's so covered in reverb it was hard to think of anything else. Shoegaze in particular is known to use heavy amounts of hall reverb. However when you listen to albums by bands like Slowdive, My Bloody Valentine and like- minded bands there is clarity. Truth be told I couldn't make out most of the lyrics to these songs. The main one being the combined reverb from the vocals, guitar and whatever else was creating muddiness around 200 - 500 hz. In this kind of situation I suggest cutting the reverb itself with the lower mids to create clarity. The album opens with “A White Dove” which contains a couple of guitar notes and talking sort of singing style which I found interesting. He implements some white noise with some success and in the end this was an ambient piece. “A Promise” is a little more structured with a verse and chorus. The melodies in general weren’t easy to latch on to right away and I can’t say there was a hook but I appreciated the overall atmosphere. Pogson more or less continues with a singing style that is monotone but that works in an Ian Curtis type of way. “Through Descent” sounded similar to a slower song off Closer by Joy Division while “No Cliche” is more of an experimental soundscape. “Take Care” has some of the most palatable guitar parts to my ears. I love shoegaze and post-punk and in general thought Pogson had some good ideas. I also wanted more hooks and memorable melodies that make a song by bands like My Bloody Valentine or Ride so memorable. Perhaps even more importantly I think Pogson should consider working with a producer/engineer to help get closer to the aesthetic that is usually preferred with this style. Hackitt is a case of wait and see for now. There were a lot of things I liked and also a couple of things that could be improved. I hope to hear more and wish him luck in his evolution.
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