Description
The Australian band Hachiku debuted in 2017 with a self-titled EP full of shimmering indie rock vibes and introspective lyrics—a band effort with the sonics to match. For their first full-length, frontwoman Anika Ostendorf—a former biology student who grew up in Germany and decided to pursue music full-time after moving to Melbourne—has decided to take a more solitary approach. On I’ll Probably Be Asleep, her bandmates appear only on the album-opening title track. After that Ostendorf, who wrote, produced, and recorded the album, is on her own.
The title track also provides a rare moment of instrumental unrest on an album that’s otherwise full of dewy dream-pop brimming with shimmering keyboards and intimate vocals. Crisp guitars and metronome-like beats power the meditative “Bridging Visa B,” while “You’ll Probably Think This Song Is About You” is a gentle synth-pop lullaby.
Underneath its calm sonic exterior, I’ll Probably Be Asleep offers complex, soul-searching lyrics. “Dreams of Galapagos,” which radiates Björk-like whimsy, thanks to Ostendorf’s precise vocal delivery and a rich tapestry of backing harmonies, grapples with a personal entanglement, exploring ambivalence (“I want to give in/ Your apathy, it defeats me”) and self-sabotage (“I want to hate and degrade your ideas/ The next time you trust me, make sure I’m for real”). The contrast between the album’s outward tranquility and emotional turbulence gives the songs incredible depth, resulting in a quiet triumph.