Let’s face it: standing out on a crowded music scene is an overwhelming task. Add to it the social media age, where everyone has a platform to put something out there; you can very easily get lost in the sauce. It is an extremely fragmented world to live in, but there are artists who seem to stick out, like Anna Shoemaker.
Originally from Philadephia, PA, but calling New York City home for a while, Shoemaker first emerged to mainstream audiences back in late 2018 with the release of her debut EP, East Side. A first impression that showcases a broad range of influences ranging from Alternative Rock to Pop, there were even flavors of R&B and Hip Hop inside. Only twenty-three years old at the time, Shoemaker would continue to take advantage of opportunities that came her way, like supporting Bishop Briggs in NYC, performing at SXSW in 2019, as well as releasing her second EP, Everything Is Embarrassing, broadly released in early 2020.
Since then, Shoemaker has continued to grow as a performer and songwriter. She released her debut album, Everything is Fine (I’m Only on Fire), in 2022 before a busy 2023 of touring and the release of her Hey Anna EP. At this stage, Shoemaker is wiser and more well-rounded, and she will return in 2025 with her sophomore full-length album, Someone Should Stop Her.
Released on February 21st through +1 Records, the album is perhaps one of Shoemaker’s most personally revealing to date. Sustaining her share of heartache over the last couple of years, Shoemaker experienced the ending of a relationship and uprooting from the Northeast region as she set out to Southern California.
These are all life-changing experiences for someone who is growing personally and as a musician. Explaining this further, everyone knows that our mid to late twenties is truly when we find ourselves and start to get a better grasp on life. Sure, society may say we are adults at eighteen, but anyone who has lived is well aware clarity does not truly occur until at least twenty-five, even not later. So, how does this all apply to Anna Shoemaker? Well, because her album Someone Should Stop Her is almost like an up close and personal look into this growth process.
Cutting very deep, Shoemaker lies it all on the line about her own personal feelings about inequities, accepting situations, and having the strength to make a positive change for the better. Many of these songs are wrapped in very introspective stories about her own experiences of rejection, tackling self-doubt, and ultimately finding independence. With this, Shoemaker presents these tales of life in a perfectly well-rounded collection of songs that mirror a road trip across the United States of America while you are lost in thought as you stare at open landscapes, mountains, and perhaps a truck stop or two.
There are twelve tracks in total, and reportedly, the bulk of Someone Should Stop Her was actually written on the road, hence the mood previously described. Certainly more stripped down than Shoemaker’s earlier material, what happens when all the layers are peeled back are beautiful melodies and engaging vocal stylings that let you feel the heartbreak and exhilaration even more deeply.
Teased with a slew of pre-album releases such as the Alt-Pop “Holly” and “Close to the Sun,” there was also the captivating “Game of Thrones” with a simply irresistible rhyme, “Iced Coffee,” but the show-stopping “Fields.” Diving into “Fields” further, you could say this song is the perfect mix of Shoemaker’s unique touch, complete with a well-placed whispery pre-chorus before the ear-tingling full chorus that all must be heard to understand.
There is also the more recently released “Back Again,” which includes even more diverse vocal melodies that keep you enthralled. However, with these six songs removed, the remainder of Someone Should Stop Her is equally as compelling. For example, “Real Life Baby” is a fitting journey starter, while “Not Your Baby” is an enchanting mix of sounds that pull at your heartstrings, talking about that moment when you realize something is not what you ever wanted it to be. Then there are others like “Miniskirt” and “Horse Girl,” which keep the sound dreamy yet grounded in a reality-based setting.
Overall, Anna Shoemaker’s Someone Should Stop Her is a perfect next step. It is heartfelt Alternative Pop Rock, free of trendy tendencies, which makes it timeless. More than a breakup album, this is an album about life. That is why Cryptic Rock gives Someone Should Stop Her 4.5 out of 5 stars.
){kind=link}
No comment