Ladyhawke - Anxiety Review

Anxiety works best when Brown steps out of her comfort zone and displays genuine vulnerability. The moody plod of “Cellophane” seems more concerned with catharsis than groove, and it’s the one moment where the singer connects with her lyrics, surprising given that nearly all of them deal with romantic turmoil. “No sleep tonight. We’re on the night train to anywhere but here,” she rasps and quivers, finally allowing the listener into her head by letting the coolness melt away from her voice. The song’s middle silences all the bells and whistles in favor of a cavernous tom and barely audible bass line. It’s a rare instance of subtlety that shows Brown is far more captivating when being sincere instead of flashy. If she ventures farther in this direction, she might have an album of ear candy that’s both instantly sweet and ultimately satisfying.

Her apathetic vocal delivery only adds to the monotony. Lines such as “And now that you realize you see the pain in my blue eyes/There’s nothing more I can do than sing you lies” coast along with detached vibrato when they could easily be moments of snarling defiance or engaged grief. The verbal slickness makes for choruses that sound oddly robotic....full text Ladyhawke is just plain cool. The New Zealand pop star’s second full-length Anxiety, her first album in four years, stands the test of time and provides pleasing tunes to fans indie-rock as well as ’80s, pop and dance music.

While most of Ladyhawke’s latest tracks could still end up on the radio, nothing on Anxiety is quite as poppy as her 2008 single “My Delirium.” Citing influences like Nirvana and The Pixies for this album, her single “Black, White & Blue” features a lot of guitar and even more drums, both of which she played herself.

But it may not be the best song on the album. Anxiety begins with “Girl Like Me,” a heavy guitar-sounding song that gets to the theme of the album immediately in the chorus: “Between devil in the deep blue sea/I saw you dancing with a girl like me/I watched in silence as you held her hands/It’s all down the river for a girl like me.”...full text Like fine wine, one's seduction technique and the face of Gary Barlow, Ladyhawke's debut album just gets better with age.

But it's been three and a half years since it came out, so it's about time Pip Brown got a wiggle on. And thank Stevie Nicks, she has! The second Ladyhawke LP now has a tracklisting, a release date and a suitably intriguing title - 'Anxiety'. Oh, and earlier this week a five-track sampler dropped onto my somewhat unappreciative doormat. It didn't stay there for long......full text I find this to be an excellent offering from Ladyhawke. At 10 tracks, it's almost too short; but they are a thoroughly enjoyable 10 tracks. "Blue Eyes" and "Vanity" are the obvious standouts, but I'm really curious to see how Anxiety finds life on the dance floor. The Big Pink has already released a lo-fi non-dance remix of the lead single "Black White & Blue," giving us the evidence of creativity I mentioned, just lacking the beats. If she plays her cards right, Anxiety could be much bigger than her debut, especially given how catchy these tracks are.

When it comes to Ladyhawke's other following, the group that loved dancing to her music, the original material may be leaving a little to the imagination. Her voice is wonderful as always, but her songs just don't entice the body to move, outside of head-bopping or foot-tapping. These songs are not crafted for mainstream electronica, four-to-the-floor beats are refreshingly absent on this offering. Anxiety, however, has incredible remix appeal. The album, while not thudding through each track, does offer a consistently comparable tempo. This will go a long way for her new tracks finding themselves on the dance floor. The catchy songwriting will also make it easy for us to find songs like "Vaccine," "Anxiety," and "Gone Gone Gone" in remixed format. Will they maintain the appeal that her debut tracks had for the floor? ...full text