Hatchie (the project of Australian singer-songwriter Harriette Pilbeam) announces her new album, "Liquorice," to be released via Secretly Canadian. In collaboration with producer Melina Duterte (aka Jay Som), Hatchie explores something more honest, uninhibited, and entirely her own. Like the rich flavors of the twisted, eponymous candy—sweet, salty, and bitter in one bite—"Liquorice" affirms how longing and obsession are intertwined in the journey of self-discovery for young women. Hatchie also presents the album's first single, the Britpop-tinged "Lose It Again." Co-written with Jeremy McLennan (Orchin), the track captivates with its raw vulnerability and is accompanied by a dreamy, 90s-inspired music video by Joe Agius, featuring the band performing amidst cows in Wildwood, Victoria. The cover of "Liquorice," the third album by Australian indie-pop artist Hatchie, features a close-up portrait of smiling Harriette Pilbeam, her smudged red lipstick hinting at the glorious aftermath of a kiss. Shot on a simple digital camera during a spontaneous backyard photoshoot, the image captures a memory that is somewhat imperfect, tinged with longing, desire, and regret. Pilbeam began writing "Liquorice" in earnest while living in Brisbane from 2022 to 2023, and later in a shared house with Agius in Melbourne, finally completing the demos in mid-2024. As a musician who had previously been open about her influences, Pilbeam sought to start from scratch, without any specific musical influences in mind, allowing the songs weeks to breathe rather than rushing ideas. She was drawn to the melodic simplicity of their early songs and embraced her musical insecurities: “I wanted to see my limitations as strengths that shape my style.” After working with producers Jorge Elbrecht (Caroline Polachek, Japanese Breakfast, Sky Ferreira) and Dan Nigro (Olivia Rodrigo, Chappell Roan) on “Giving the World Away,” Pilbeam wanted to complete “Liquorice” with a single collaborator, ideally a non-male producer who was also pursuing her own music project. In September 2024, Pilbeam and Agius returned to Los Angeles to work with Melina Duterte, who records indie rock under the name Jay Som and has contributed to a number of projects, including boygenius’ Grammy Award-winning album “The Record.” “My last album turned out to be very dark and introspective, and while that’s part of me, there was another side to me that I hadn’t expressed,” says Pilbeam. “I’m a hopeless romantic and a very silly person, sometimes to the point of absurdity.”