It’s always a good day when there’s a new release from the mighty Anna Secret Poet. ‘Pillow Princess ‘ is her latest album, and as ever, there’s some great songwriting, along with new genres, all delivered with humour, pathos and experimentation.
The opener, ‘Everything That Was No Longer Is’ is a melancholic, piano- driven instrumental with warm washes of additional synth, reminiscent of Angelo Badalamenti’s ‘Twin Peaks’ theme.
Then, it’s business as usual as we’re whisked into ‘Denial In A’, a Ramones meets glam rock stomper.
There’s a meditation on middle-aged looks on the self deprecating, witty, ‘I Don’t Recognise My Body Anymore’, a playful glam strut.Bonus points here for the Scots word “lowpin’ ‘” which made me laugh out loud. I relate entirely to this song.
Anna’s never been one to keep the direction and energy of her songs flowing one way, so it’s nice to hear her mix it up again. This she does on the acoustic introspection of ‘Nothing To Offer’ and ‘Sober’, but these contrast effectively with the 80s inspired banger, ‘I Just Want To Make You Dance’ which contains the brilliant line “I’m not a sub on your OnlyFans”. Then there’s the cute, spooky-ooky-ooky ‘Rain Dogs’ era Tom Waits drunken swagger of ‘TW’, of which I’m now pretty obsessed.(Yes it does stand for Tom Waits, not Trigger Warning). And ‘Therein Lies The Beauty’ could have been penned by Teenage Fanclub’s Norman Blake, such is its zesty early nineties indie tang and crunch.
Best of all, though, is it’s all out in time for your witching hour October 31st shenanigans. I know who I will be listening to. Long may she rock. Gaun yersel’, as they say in Glasgow.
Self-released, available on October 30th, 2026.
