It’s been a while since Ladyhawke released her rather impressive debut record. The world has changed a lot since 2008 back when she was princess of the scene. Ladyhawke (AKA Pip) seems to have changed a bit too. While her debut album was firmly rooted in 80’s revivalism (weren’t they all in 2008?) Anxiety, her latest, take a leap forward in time and ends up sounding like something from the mid-90’s in that Lilith Fair with a beat kind of way.
Don’t get me wrong Anxiety will not give you its namesake. This is far from a bad record, in fact I’m willing to go out on a limb and say that it might just be better than her debut. The songs here are huge, the choruses are gigantic and mind numbing and the songs are so laser sharp that they could slice to diamond. If you had to make a comparison imagine Garbage in a mix up with Goldfrapp and an FM Radio program director and you have what Anxiety is all about. It’s a bit aggressive, loaded with sugary sweet choruses that repeat into infinity, and a vocal style that would make Alison Goldfrapp blush. While there’s no, “Paris Is Burning,” to light the dance floor on fire, she doesn’t really need that this time around as every song is solidly written and instantly memorable. Pip has grown here quite a bit and you can hear her maturing into a beast of a songwriter on every song here and that’s impressive.
Ladyhawke is slowly becoming a monster of an artist. From electro pop to classic alternative and everything in between Pip embraces it all and is able to write anything around any of it. She’s blossomed into something more than a one trick pony and while diehard scenesters might have some Anxiety in the direction she’s headed the rest of us can thoroughly enjoy her journey.
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