El Hardwick

𝙇𝙤𝙣𝙙𝙤𝙣-𝙗𝙖𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙢𝙪𝙡𝙩𝙞𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙘𝙞𝙥𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙧𝙮 𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝙀𝙡 𝙃𝙖𝙧𝙙𝙬𝙞𝙘𝙠 𝙧𝙚𝙛𝙡𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙨 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙘𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙖 𝙨𝙚𝙦𝙪𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙡𝙪𝙨𝙝𝙡𝙮 𝙤𝙧𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙙, 𝙙𝙪𝙗𝙗𝙮 𝙘𝙤𝙨𝙢𝙞𝙘 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨.

There's a sense of peace to 'Process of Elimination' that comes from Hardwick's realisation that they could ignore the need for a diagnosis, and study different kinds of healing. "Now I'm free," Sasha Wilde exhales on 'Dual', while Hardwick offers a spoken word explanation of their situation. Backed by woodwind from Alex McKenzie and saw and double bass from Memory Play, Hardwick adds sparse synthesizer groans, letting the words guide the direction of the composition. It's a sobering piece that roots the album in Hardwick's personal situation, allowing them to jump off into the rhythmic 'Quantology' and the IDM-inspired 'How Dow I Know...'.

The album hits its stride in its second half, with the arpeggio-led 'Language Couldn't Say' and lilting, jazzy 'Pataphysical', two tracks that emphasise the hope that comes from understanding and self-actualisation.