ANNE-MARIE - UNHEALTHY
Credit: George Muncey
British pop singer-songwriter Anne-Marie is known for the success of her collaborations like that of ‘Kiss My (uh oh)’ with Little Mix. Unhealthy is no different with stand-out tracks being those with great features. The title track ‘UNHEALTHY’ has a fabulous cameo from country rock pop singer Shania Twain. There is even a feature from Khalid on ‘YOU & I’. The features are strong with this record!
Opening with ‘SUCKS TO BE YOU’, a little intro about an ex where she proclaims, “This could be us but you be playin' / And messin' 'round then gettin' wasted / While I am home alone waitin' for you / You could spend your money on me / But you spunked it all on weed / Now I'm on my ones with dinner for two / So guess I'll go and find me somebody new / Oh, it sucks to be you, ooh” Subsequently, listeners will not be surprised to hear the album is littered with tracks about toxicity, relationships and a sprinkling of self-love too.
The first real track on the album is ‘SAD BITCH’ in which Anne-Marie sings; “it’s so last year, being a sad bitch”, a song with a plucky attitude, something that Anne-Marie is not short of. Although it’s a fairly forgettable song in the scheme of things.
Before listeners know it, they’re propelled into the much-radio-played ‘PSYCHO’ featuring Aitch. An interpolation of the 90’s hit ‘Mambo No.5’ creates what is a scarily catchy song. So once you hear it, it’s likely to be stuck in your head for a long time. But that doesn't make it a particularly great song, just a persistent one!
It's not the only catchy song to borrow from others' music, ‘OBSESSED’ is one such example of lifting musical classic Oliver’s ‘I’d Do Anything’ and using familiar lyrics in a different context, like, “Boy, I’ll do anything for you / Go to Timbuktu, anything” it is a song that will make men afraid to date, whilst bopping their heads to the poptastic track.
The pop-punk electric guitar of ‘HAUNT YOU’ is a standout moment, but primarily this is a pop album so don’t be surprised to hear it overflowing with poppy hits as the Essex singer foams at the mouth shouting album titles at you, in CAPITAL LETTERS!
It’s been a couple of years since she released Therapy, a collection that traverses mental health issues. On this album, she is brazenly as UNHEALTHY as the relationships she's singing about. It's almost as if this album is just a chance to scream her frustrations from the top of her lungs. Something we’d all like to do sometimes.
The record is very short, that's hardly surprising as only one song is longer than three minutes, and most are hanging around the two-minute mark. This adds to the ranty nature of the album like each song is a quick outburst of emotions. Whether or not this is intentional who knows, it may just be a side effect of wanting radio and playlist-friendly songs!
All in all, it's a fairly fun record that’s relatable, something Anne-Marie does well. She seems like a woman fans could be mates with or go for a drink with down the pub. It is worth a listen on whichever streaming site you use and you’ll probably love it or hate this 30-minute musical explanation of love-and-hate relationships.
Cat Wiltshire
★★★☆☆