Continually toting an undeniable infectious energy, along with evocative and grandiose dabbling into lush pop-rock and slacker anthems, her latest foray - and her debut full-length record – Garageband Superstar is no different.
Sitting pretty at twelve tracks, it follows on from previous EPs Everything Is Dogs and last year’s Goober, seamlessly demonstrating her sonic evolution as an artist. Amalgamating with her most impressive releases to date, the record sweeps through the witty musings of lead single “Still Running (5K)”, and irreverent nature of “Step Mom”, before taking a step-back for the more delicately constructed “Slimming Down”.
From the get-go, opening number “Rollercoaster” comes in full-throttle leaving no room to gather your thoughts before being pulled immediately into the rose-tinted, colour-pop dreamscape of Hibberd. Seemingly never letting up, the album is jam-packed with high-energy cuts tinged with almost-rap moments (“Still Running (5K)”), tracks that could’ve been nabbed straight from a teen American coming of age movie (“Step Mom”), and Olivia Rodrigo reminiscent bops (“Hot Boys”), Hibberd thoroughly covers all bases.
“Hole In The Head” takes its crown as the stand-out track of the record, with its insistent guitar lines, thrumming percussion and Hibberd’s lush vocal intonations that wouldn’t be misplaced on an Avril Lavigne record. Edging into American punk-rock, “Hole In The Head” finds itself sandwiched between the title track, which boasts melodic vocalisations and the softer (yet still rocky) notes of “I’m Insecure”, whose narrative is focussed on insecurities and the protagonist having a “bad case of imposter syndrome”.
Despite being incredibly light-hearted and witty, Hibberd still delves into deeper topics (such as that found in “I’m Insecure” (“He thinks I’d be better off thin for the big day”), and tackles the tribulations of young life with an admirable positivity. Culminating at the final cut, “Last Song Ever” features spoken words reminiscent of an early Kate Nash and gives us a last deep breath of what the singer has to offer.
Filled with high-octane rock-infused instrumentation, demanding lyrics and strong vocal performances, Garageband Superstar is a truly impressive debut from the Isle of Wight's own brightly burgeoning scuzz-pop superstar.
