Singer/songwriter Harriette Pilbeam, who’s been releasing spellbinding dream pop under the alias Hatchie since 2018, has announced her second full-length album Giving the World Away. The album, out April 22 via Secretly Canadian, serves as the follow-up to her critically acclaimed debut album Keepsake and boasts production by Jorge Elbrecht (Japanese Breakfast, Sky Ferriera) as well as writing credits from Joe Agius and Olivia Rodrigo collaborator Dan Nigro. The album announcement arrives with a video for new single “Quicksand” directed by Nathan Castiel.
Both “Quicksand” and lead single “This Enchanted,” released this past September, are evidence of Pilbeam’s continued evolution as an artist, presenting a focused, immediate vision that pushes beyond the constraints of a single genre or style. The new single reckons with the acclaim she received upon the release of her debut album, urging herself to push forward; “If I had everything I wanted, would I want more?/Would I keep fighting if there’s nothing left to fight for?/Sometimes I feel like I’m just sinking into quicksand,” she sings on the track’s infectious chorus. For an expression of confusion, it arrives with a direct punch, melding with glimmering synthpop backing that swallows any worries reflected in the lyrics.
In a press release accompanying the album announcement, Pilbeam talked about the inspiration behind “Quicksand” and its video:
“Quicksand” is about dealing with the realisation that you’ll never be satisfied. I started writing it when I was home between tours in 2019 before finishing it with Joe Agius and Dan Nigro the next year. I was feeling guilty and ungrateful for not being happy about a few different things in my life that were technically going well. I had to work through some tough learned thought processes and emotions that had been working away for years to try to understand how to be happy with my present, and stop fixating on my past and future. The video digs deeper into showing this juxtaposition of such sadness and anger despite being surrounded by glamour and grandeur.
In the same announcement, video director Nathan Castiel said of “Quicksand”:
For “Quicksand,” I created a video that plays off of some tropes of Hollywood glamour in a melancholy and surreal way while giving Harriette room to perform and express the song’s raw emotion. We leaned into a neon-tinged after hours aesthetic and shot on 16mm which added a griminess to the opulent locations and set pieces.
Hatchie has also announced a North American tour to promote the new album, supported by Caroline Loveglow. The month-long tour kicks off in Washington, D.C. on May 4. Tickets are on sale now.
Check out the video for “Quicksand” below, plus Hatchie’s performance at Paste Studio NYC from 2018, and keep scrolling for Giving the World Away album details and tour dates. You can pre-order Giving the World Away here.
Giving the World Away Tracklist
01. Lights On
02. This Enchanted
03. Twin
04. Take My Hand
05. The Rhythm
06. Quicksand
07. Thinking Of
08. Giving The World Away
09. The Key
10. Don’t Leave Me In The Rain
11. Sunday Song
12. Til We Run Out of Air
Giving the World Away Album Art
Hatchie Tour Dates:
May
04 – Washington, D.C. @ Songbyrd Record Cafe
05 – Philadelphia, PA @ The Foundry
06 – Boston, MA @ Crystal Ballroom at Somerville Theatre
07 – Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
09 – Montreal, QC @ Bar Le Ritz PDB
10 – Toronto, ON @ The Garrison
12 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Club Cafe
13 – Columbus, OH @ Ace of Cups
14- Chicago, IL @ Sleeping Village
15 – Minneapolis, MN @ Turf Club
19 – Vancouver, BC @ Fortune Sound Club
20 – Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios
21 – Seattle, WA @ Neumos
23 – San Francisco, CA @ Rickshaw Stop
25 – San Diego, CA @ Casbah
26 – Los Angeles, CA @ Lodge Room
