More about: M.T. Hadley

Served in a petri dish of emotion, M.T. Hadley presents his debut album Empty: a breathtaking spread of electronic pop songs that delicately, humorously, and touchingly mirror the ever-spinning roladex of hardships that characterise human living.

First full-length track 'Private Eye' is one of several excellent choruses, and one of a few which identify Hadley as a Kevin Parker-style, card-carrying loner. There are pulses of synth which recall the pop-wards thrust of Parker's psych work too. There are also times when Hadley's awe-inspired vocals carry echoes of Bon Iver's warm tones. Elsewhere, old school inspirations come to the fore, such as in the Joan Armatrading agony on 'Janet'.

On this central single, Hadley laments the death of his mother and honours her beautifully with a cut that sheds the cloak of bitter saracasm he often wears for a moment of pure, moving grief. It's a perfect, meditative story that honestly expresses Hadley's pain: "when I go through harder times, I will do my best for you" he sings in a moment of earnestness - one of a perfect sparing few on this LP.

In other places on Empty, Hadley is less honest, more skeptical - bitchy, even. Here is an artist who - finally, refreshingly - represents exactly the problematic, painful cocktail of personality traits and emotions present in all of us at any one time.

On 'Reticent', nihilism meets anxious pop in an anthem that bitterly laments that "nothing you do matters", while also rolling its eyes at people who give compliments to strangers in bars - "I like your outfit...it's really nice" he sings judgily. The result is a dichotomy of emotion that genuinely reflects the agony and indelicacy of being a human being. 

Humorous moments also abound. 'Private Eye' tells the story of a private investigator who falls in love with the object of his investigation; 'First Floor' pays tribute to the black humour of Chris Morris and his sketch about the person who favours jumping forty times from the first floor instead of once from the top floor.

And at all times, Empty reveals endless elements of M.T. Hadley's insides: a practice that he is refreshingly pleased to engage in. There is nihilsm, yes (such as on 'Rattle', which is a warning about life's terribleness to newborn baby) but there is also anxiety and haughtiness ('Reticent'), grief ('Janet') and ambivalence ('Roof Party').

Empty is a calloused, glistening album that is heartfelt as often as it is nihilistic. It shows off an arsenal of guitars and synths, and a propensity to inventiveness. At once smart, contemptuous and immensly enjoyable, M. T. Hadley has created an album that truly reflects the messiness of being human.

Empty is released on Friday 8 November 2019 via M.T. Hadley's own label Empty.

More about: M.T. Hadley