Abigail Hubbard – ‘People Watching’ Review

What does Abigail Hubbard sound like?

Tender trip hop from the witches’ garden.

The review of ‘People Watching’ by Abigail Hubbard

Tucked away as an EP released in 2012, ‘People Watching’ is Abigail Hubbard’s seemingly only release. I stumbled across it thanks to random Bandcamp recommendations. Whilst the internet is currently having a complete crisis of identity and generative AI slop, human-curated recommendations can still bring about the joys of user-centred internet experiences. Old music lost to time can resurface for new ears. I’m glad I’ve finally found this curious gem.

Abigail Hubbard’s musical style is a mixture of trip hop beats, acoustic folk pop, and jazz frissons. The opening track ‘Ringing Ears’ mixes all of those elements together in brush strokes. Rustling percussion, rustic guitar arpeggiated chords, and jazzy moments that spark offbeat breezes where the song rustles past in a frenzy. It isn’t a melodic-first song structure, but a series of mood movements instead. Hubbard’s voice is layered in a breathy haze, filtering in and out, mimicking ears in recovery after being stunned. It takes a few listens to click. ‘People Watching’ is far more immediate. The title track sounds like it could have come from Mandalay from the turn of the Millenium. Gentle acoustic guitar and tuned percussive metal plinky plonks playfully create a dreamy folk world. A trip hop beat with a rustic Latin American Reggae twang rumbles away whilst electric guitar solos ripple back and forth in time like a warped washing machine. Abigail’s vocals are sharp and angular here, akin to a baby punk rocker. I’m faintly reminded of a hybrid between Cerys Matthews and Joanna Newsom, but less extreme.

‘Sunk’ is utterly gorgeous. This trip-hop beauty leaves a lot of space between the instruments to let a drifting muted trumpet and the softer side of Hubbard’s voice carry the mood. There is a slow lullaby sway to the beat, and after two busier tracks, the laid-back approach works a treat. Again, unusual noises and approaches seep in, but this time it’s with a bubbly synth that evokes a glistening, distant oasis. The closing track, ‘Fy Alone’, lets Abigail Hubbard’s higher register take centre stage. She embraces her witchy side with lots of Johanna Glaza “ooh”‘s and playful squeals. It takes place to a poppier beat, backed by keyboards, trumpet, and a mixture of guitars that merge elements of street jazz within an acoustic pop setting. It’s probably the most approachable track on the EP, and perhaps the best entry point.

Quite what Abigail Hubbard is up to now, I’m not sure. The English singer-songwriter clearly has talent, and this short EP is a lone testament to that. Fans of early 2000s trip hop music, looking for the more acoustic side of the genre instead of the electronic edge of it, would do well to seek this release out. Maybe one day we’ll get a follow-up…

Recommended track: Sunk

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