On Hatchie’s 2018 debut EP, Sugar & Spice, Australian indie pop artist Harriette Pilbeam delivered the sonic equivalent of falling deliriously in love: a sustained rush of feeling, rendered in swoony melodies, gauzy guitar tones and endlessly hypnotic layers of sound. Hatchie’s debut album, Keepsake, saw Pilbeam explore everything from industrial to new wave to dance-pop; while her sophomore album, 2022’s glossy and cinematic Giving the World Away, captured the emotional turmoil Pilbeam felt around her artistry.

As a musician who has previously worn her influences on her sleeve, Pilbeam strove to write Hatchie’s forthcoming third album, Liquorice, from scratch without any specific musical influences in mind; allowing songs to breathe for weeks, rather than rushing ideas. She found herself drawn to the melodic simplicity of her early songs and embraced her musical insecurities: “I wanted to see my limitations as strengths that inform my style.”

Liquorice is preoccupied with the finite forever. These songs capture the overwhelming, exhilarating, and transforming side-effects of infatuation, even if the entirety of the love story only lasts for one magical night. Like the rich flavors of the twisty, titular candy—sweet, salty, and bitter all in one bite—Liquorice validates how longing and obsession are intertwined in the self-discovery of young womanhood.