*Pertinax* – Latin for "to persist, stoically" – serves as both manifesto and autobiography. The Mackies have persisted indeed, and this collection of thirteen tracks demonstrates precisely why such doggedness matters. Lindsey's vocals possess a theatrical richness that invites the inevitable Kate Bush comparisons, yet her delivery carries less ethereal whimsy and more earthbound gravitas. These are songs written by someone who has weathered genuine storms rather than merely observed them from a comfortable distance.
The opening track "Mended" establishes the album's philosophical foundation through the Japanese art of Kintsugi – repairing broken pottery with gold, transforming damage into beauty. Lindsey's exploration of fragility and repair, prompted by Covid isolation, avoids mawkish sentiment through sophisticated melodic architecture. David's production creates space for contemplation without resorting to minimalism; layers of instrumentation reveal themselves gradually, rewarding repeated listening.
"Eruption" channels political fury with remarkable restraint. Rather than descending into polemic, the track builds tension through rhythmic insistence and carefully calibrated dynamics. The Mackies understand that rage expressed through measured artistry often proves more devastating than simple volume. Felix Flower's saxophone work on both this track and the stunning "Huma" adds textural sophistication, his playing suggesting influences ranging from Morphine's noir-jazz to the more adventurous edges of contemporary progressive music.
"Huma" itself stands as the album's centrepiece achievement. The track's deliberate rejection of conventional verse-chorus structure serves the narrative – a fantastic bird escaping confinement – with admirable discipline. The song moves forward relentlessly until its subject achieves freedom, at which point Flower's saxophone solo soars with precisely the liberation the lyrics describe. It's a bold compositional choice that succeeds through sheer conviction.
The album's feminist statement "Whole" demonstrates how political music can function without sacrificing artistic merit. Inviting female friends to join the final chorus – dubbed "the Persisters" – transforms individual defiance into collective resistance. The arrangement builds from intimate confession to communal declaration, Lindsey's rich vocals anchored by David's understated but propulsive guitar work.
Throughout *Pertinax*, the Mackies display their multi-instrumentalist credentials with impressive range. Piano, guitars, bass, and keyboards interweave with organic fluidity, the product of a musical partnership honed over decades. David's production, mixing, and mastering never call attention to themselves yet create sonic environments perfectly suited to each song's emotional terrain. "Still Life" shimmers with layered textures whilst maintaining clarity; "Fugue" captures nocturnal anxiety through disquieting harmonies before dawn's resolution arrives with genuine catharsis.
The couple's background – from Norwich's post-punk scene through dalliances with Ensign and Polygram, derailed by managerial tragedy and parenthood – informs every corner of this record. These aren't songs crafted for playlist algorithms or festival singalongs. They demand engagement, offering rewards proportional to the attention invested.
*Pertinax* occupies territory somewhere between art rock's intellectual ambitions and dream pop's emotional directness, filtered through a distinctly British sensibility that values understatement over bombast. The Mackies have created an album that justifies their decades of persistence – sophisticated, unsettling, and utterly their own. One hopes the music industry, so often distracted by youth and novelty, recognizes what maturity and genuine partnership can achieve.