Anne Marie - Unhealthy

by Zena Grieg

published: 30 / 8 / 2023

Label: Atlantic
Format: CD

Upbeat but cathartic third album from Brit Award- nominated singer-songwriter Anne-Marie

Review

Essex-raised Brit Billion Award- nominated singer-songwriter Anne-Marie returns to the music scene with a vengeance with her new, third album ‘Unhealthy’. A mix of short, punchy songs accompanied by anarchically fun videos, set against a diverse range of instrumentation, from dance-pop to rock and orchestral, ‘Unhealthy’ is more introspective than 32 year-old Anne Marie's previous releases; in her words a story “about being with the wrong person, then eventually ending up with the right one”. Songs to listen out for in this thirteen-track collection include: the opener ‘Sucks To Be You’ with its ukelele accompaniment; the sparse, straightforward pop track ‘Sad Bitch’; the guitar-led, pop-punk ‘Haunt You’; the playful, empowering ‘Grudge’ with its Latin horns, heavy base and jocular lines: “My therapist said 'Keep calm and don’t react'/And the Bible says 'Love thy enemy' and all that/And my friends all say that karma’s gon’ get me back/And I shouldn’t hold a grudge/….But I wanna”. Also memorable is the country title track, featuring an inspired collaboration with Shania Twain; the dreamlike ‘Irish Goodbye’ with its wistful wish for one more moment with someone about to leave her; the catchy, snarling ‘Cuckoo’ with its slick lyrics: “…I OD on the jealousy/Got a PhD in anxiety”; and the closer, the striking ballad ‘Never Loved Anyone Before’. An upbeat, esoteric journey of self-discovery with a cathartic purging of raw emotions from past relationships, ‘Unhealthy’ is “just letting go and owning that you’re chaotic and your thoughts are crazy. But that’s okay.”

Track Listing:-

1 Sucks To Be You
2 Sad B!tch
3 Psycho
4 Haunt You
5 Trainwreck
6 Grudge
7 Obsessed
8 Kills Me To Love You
9 Unhealthy
10 Irish Goodbye
11 Cuckoo
12 You & I
13 Never Loved Anyone Before