ANNIE HAMILTON
Feeling inspired by the phenomenon of nostalgic behaviours at the start of the pandemic, Hamilton decided to scrap her entire backlog: demos, half-written songs, half-recorded works-in-progress, and started with a completely blank canvas and a committed willingness to get lost in a new world of her own creation. The Future Is Here But It Feels Kinda Like The Past is the result of that fresh start and has produced some remarkable tunes.
Emerging from the silence and shimmering into view comes ‘Providence Portal’ is a delicate opener that has Hamilton recalling an experience etched with tension and release. Steadied by rhythmic drumming and angelic harmonies, the pull of Hamilton’s vocals are immediate.
Fusing strings and synthesizers to great effect, ‘Exist’ was written at the height of lockdown and focuses on how the little worries can be amplified into crippling difficulties. Yet in true Hamilton fashion, there is an uplifting and empowering tone to the message which many of us, if not all, can readily relate to.
Crackling with exuberance and intoxication of new love, ‘Electric Night’ with its thick basslines simply bristles with energy. Notes of Australiana litter the lyricism throughout the track as Hamilton conjures romantic visions of our landscape and the collective sharing of precious moments.
Ushered in by tambourine and echoed fx, ‘Night Off’ continues with hypnotic bass-driven rhythms. And again it is Hamilton’s ability to create such vivid scenes with her lucid lyricism that pairs so effectively with an updraft of swirling synthesizers that make her tracks so engaging.
Stripped back and threadbare ‘Again’ builds slowly before cascading drums are met with whirling synths and oscillating vocals. Peaking with choral overtones, the layered track shows wonderful production with the whole greater than the sum of its parts.
Brief as it maybe ‘Interlude (a dream)’ wafts in amongst a backdrop of reverb as Hamilton recalls a conversation with a lady. Continuing in a similar narrative ‘Pieces of You’ is set against a beautiful piano accompaniment as Hamilton shares her city experiences. Her warts and all assessment is honest and shows a humility Hamilton often extols as echoed by the line “You have everything you ever wanted”.
A reoccurring sonic threat tying the album together is the screeching metallic reverb that appears in several tracks and ‘Bad Trip’ is no different. A high pace drumbeat provides the metronome as Hamilton’s vocals mirror the steady beats.
Equally fast-paced, ‘Labyrinth’ fuses electronica with mixed harmonies. The ever-increasing vocals are folded upon one another producing the highly layered track.
There is a tangible sense of emptiness in ‘All the Doors Inside My Home Are Slamming Into One Another’ as Hamilton describes in great detail. Explaining where she is in her house both literally and figuratively. In a similar vein ‘Whirlwind’ creates an atmosphere that creates a feeling of isolation and reflection.
There are some common threads tying the The Future Is Here But It Feels Kinda Like The Past together and these appear in the repetition of effects and reverb but equally, there are certain tracks that stand so tall they threaten to break free. The well-crafted ‘Providence Portal’, ‘Exist’, ‘Electric Night’ and ‘Again’ are such strong tracks that they linger long after the record has finished.
