Lockey Mac - Homesick

BIMM Manchester Weekly Features 1st Issue

Photos by Molly Atherton

Many musicians dream of escaping lockdown and returning to our stages; being drowned in lights and spilled beer seems like a distant historical period from centuries ago. While a lot of artists are doing their best to avoid this social draught that both audience and performer have been trapped in, with his latest single Lockey Macshows that only so many living room takeaway nights and Zoom parties can realistically alleviate the weight dragging down our shoulders, keeping us in bed on sunny Monday mornings and dark, quiet weekends.

From the first note, ‘Homesick’ speaks a truth that all of us are harbouring. Lockey Mac uses minor tonalities consistently to paint a picture of loneliness and stress. Through a mix of rap and clean singing he tells his very personal tale of the overwhelming desire to be back to normality. The battle between wanting to enjoy life, seeing the sights, contrasted with missing the safety of home is one that I am sure is relatable to many. It doesn’t take much speculation or research to learn that young adults are among the generation-sweeping demographic of people who have had lives, careers and dreams put on hold by both the virus and the way it has been dealt with by the people in charge. Being a student, Lockey Mac has had one of the most important and enjoyable periods of his life shafted, and he is very aware of it, touching on many aspects of mental health that have been made even more difficult to handle because of the inflicted isolation of lockdown.

The production behind the track sounds solid, especially that of the instrumentals. A ripping guitar solo towards the end of the track drives me to believe Lockey Mac is a guitarist first and vocalist second. Homesick nods to the alternative RnB/emo pop genres, listing Lil Peep and Machine Gun Kelly as primary influences, but his time performing in band Pretty Thieving displays a range of experience.

While it is clear Lockey Mac’s ‘unique sound’ is still developing, the attention to detail that he gives the production and instrumental song-writing is a hallmark of an artist bursting with creativity, looking forward to the future where he can finally release his craft onto a new, rejuvenated world.