7/10

Maribou State have long held a unique space in electronic music. A duo whose sound feels both boundless and deeply personal, threading the needle between soulful electronica, intricate soundscapes, and festival-sized euphoria. With 'Portraits' and 'Kingdoms in Colour', they carved out a signature that felt like an invitation into something lush and immersive, where organic textures met digital finesse. But their latest album 'Hallucinating Love' arrives from a place of profound challenge and transformation, making it their most raw, expansive, and emotionally resonant work to date.

This record was never meant to be an easy one. Initially, 2020 was supposed to be a creative reset—a chance to pause, reflect, and build something fresh. Instead, it became a period of isolation, mental health struggles, and unforeseen medical battles. For Chris, a diagnosis of chiari malformation—a condition causing chronic headaches and intense neurological pain—threatened not just his music career, but his ability to function at all. Liam, simultaneously, wrestled with crippling anxiety, as the weight of their careers and personal lives bore down on them. Their first version of the album was scrapped, forcing them to start again from the ground up.

The result of that process? A breathtaking, deeply cathartic body of work that embodies everything Maribou State have fought through and emerged from. Every note, every soaring string arrangement, and every swelling vocal feels earned—a testament to pushing forward even in the face of uncertainty. Longtime collaborator Holly Walker returns with her signature dreamlike delivery, while Andreya Triana brings a fresh new dimension to their already-rich sonic palette. But what makes 'Hallucinating Love' truly special is its balance of grandeur and intimacy—an album that swirls with tantalising anthems while holding space for deeply personal moments.

Even as they faced some of the darkest periods of their personal lives, Maribou State refused to let those struggles define them. Instead, they channelled the pain, the resilience, the deep gratitude for simply being able to create again, into a record that radiates hope. 'Hallucinating Love' is a love letter to perseverance, a soundtrack for those who’ve walked through storms and found the sun waiting on the other side.