eMusic Review 0
When Norway’s Anne Lilia Berge Strand blew up with her 2004 Anniemal debut, the number of successful indiepop/dance music crossovers were few: the Knife were nobodies beyond Scandinavia; La Roux, Little Boots, and Lily Allen were still in school; and Robyn hadn’t yet reinvented herself. Annie’s tragic backstory (Tore “Erot” Kroknes, her boyfriend and initial producer, died of a degenerative heart condition at 23) and defiantly playful image (think Kylie Minogue with ten times the mischief) charmed both the Norwegian charts and the international bloggerati. She signed a major label deal in 2007, but walked away from it the following year with a flop single and unreleased album while baby Annies topped the UK pop charts and Lady Gaga conquered America.
Don’t Stop reconfigures what Annie declined to release when her label boss took another job. Her voice may be soft, but her lyrics prove her a discriminating gal who doesn’t mince words: “Let’s do it once or maybe twice/That’ll be enough,” she qualifies in “The Breakfast Song.” Knowing this kinda sass is like a lit match on gasoline to hit-and-run rockers, she shows no mercy on the fifth track, “I Don’t Like Your Band.” “It’s not you, it’s your tunes,”… read more »