Ladyhawke has returned two years after her successful first release. Entitled Anxiety, Ladyhawke’s second album doesn’t evoke the most confident feelings. Obvious questions arise, “can this live up to the first?” Second albums secure an artist’s longevity, and naturally second albums have their own challenges and pressures to live up to, so it was interesting to see the direction Ladyhawke went in. She admitted her unease in releasing a second album, hence the pushed back release dates and the title Anxiety.
‘Paris is Burning’ and ‘My Delirium’ stand out as pinnacle tracks in the primary album that emphasise Ladyhawke’s talent and breakthrough onto the music scene. So what’s changed? The sound has converted to become less 80s and more slick, grunge pop. ‘Sunday Drive’ is heavy on guitar and electronics, similar to the less imaginatively named lead single of the album, ‘Black and White and Blue’. ‘Vaccine’ has a punchy and memorable sound, but its repetitive and its lack of lyrics demonstrate the tracks lack of originality.
This is also my opinion on ‘Blue Eyes’: it begins well, with a strong beat, and electrifying synths that are constant in the chorus, but Ladyhawke’s tedious “nananana’s” become a drag and leave the track distinctly average. ‘Vanity’ creates a melodious sound which contrasts with the previous tracks, but it still falls on the darker side of pop, discussing “self destruction, self obsession” but once again. It drags: “Vanity Vanity Vanity, yea yea yea” (repeated over 15 times in the song). The album has potential but it just never seems to take flight and subsequently seems to live in the shadow of the first release.
Anxiety just doesn’t have a set of peak songs that hold the album together, something that her first release did have. Therefore, it becomes a sound that is tedious and won’t satisfy the listeners craving for something more distinctive from Ladyhawke.