Album Review: Anna Secret Poet – Pity Party

“Things are never what they seem!” states the first line of the, very brief, introduction to Anna Secret Poet. New to my ears but I’m not sure why because Anna Secret Poet is, in one word, brilliant. Five full length albums already under her belt going back to 2016’s ‘Vowel Movements’ – opening line “She looks like a fish I could never envisage kissing” –  all of which mix brilliant word play over a backdrop of often furious sounds, be this guitar driven punk rock noise, joyful indie pop, reggae vibes, electronic games machine beats or folk. Song titles giving a clear indication of the things that feature strongly in the world of Anna Secret Poet, either as irritants, sources of amusement or simply fun – ‘Selfie Song’, ‘Mobile Phonies’, ‘Tits Of Steel’, ‘Stars Wars Pants’, ‘Why Won’t Cheerleaders Come Near Me?’

An album a year since her debut has only confirmed that if ten people listened to them all you’d get ten wildly different descriptions, which is why this “lone guitar wielding, genderbending, genre defying anomoly” is so unique, and so good.

February 12^th sees the release of ‘Pity Party’ – an altogether more consistent album in that there isn’t a vast array of different genres fighting for your attention. ‘Pity Party’, written and recorded during lockdown when Anna, like most of us, had ample time to become despondent, look inwards and strive for something to help get her through. This album is that thing. With two clearly defined parts the first half is packed with perfect punk rock melodies, a sound that dominated so many superb songs of ‘77/’78. Opener ‘Pretty Shitty’, all slicing guitars and drums is a frantic outing describing just about every thought that can stop us in our tracks. ‘I Came’ is full of agitated drums, a pounding beat over which she shouts “I came, I saw, I came again”. ‘Skip’ blasts along like any decent Undertones tune while ‘The Defecting Song’ spits anger confronting things we’re so often expected to keep to ourselves, “Am I supposed to feel I never ever wanna cry? Emotions I conceal …”

Pity Party’s second half is calmer, more introspective – ‘Optimists Beware’ is a thought provoking acoustic number that makes it clear that the worst aspect of things can and do happen as well. Lockdown frustrations and doubts pour out on ‘Debbie Downer’ – “I hate to be a negative Nancy but it all keeps spilling out”. This brief mid album acoustic interlude quickly evolves into perfect indie pop with ‘I Have Forgiven You’, ‘We Find Peace’ and ‘I Had A Brain’ before finally closing with the title track, and one of many album highlights – “Don’t invite me to the pity party, I got no pity for you. But I can spare some vitriol..”. 

Listen carefully and in ‘Pity Party’ you’ll catch glimpses of Ramones, Buzzcocks, The Undertones, Devo, Patrick Fitzgerald, The Beatles, some Rolling Stones. But that’s all they are. Glimpses. Because ultimately what Anna Secret Poet has done is deliver an album that is unique to her. Full of dry humour, irony, smart, often witty, observations and honest feelings. ‘Pity Party’ is an album for right now, an album that sums up perfectly the current thoughts of many and one that makes you realise you’re not the only one.

‘Pity Party’ will be released on Friday February 12^th and will be available to buy from Anna Secret Poet’s Bandcamp page here as well as on all the usual digital platforms including Spotify, iTunes, Deezer and Amazon. Anna hopes to also release a limited edition of ‘Pity Party’ on CD.