Annie - Don't Stop

Before you read this review, stop. Take a moment and consider every review you've read of Don't Stop before Annie signed to Smalltown Supersound, then dash those memories from your mind. This is not the Don't Stop everyone has read about and expected. Previous reviews mention songs that both did not end up on the final album, and songs that included other artists that no longer are featured. Clear your mind of those reviews, and start again.

Annie was one of the most buzzed about artists in 2004. With her infections flavor of "Chewing Gum" and the beautiful sound of her "Heartbeat," she was delightful and catchy. Her debut album, Anniemal, housed a collection of electropop gems, and she seemed poised to capture radio.

In 2007, whispers about a sophomore album begun to emerge due to an international deal signed with Island Records. After the release of the poppy "I Know UR Girlfriend Hates Me" and a cover of Stacey Q's "Two of Hearts," word spread that a late 2008 release of Don't Stop would occur. However, later that year, Annie parted ways with Island, and it seemed the life of Don't Stop had ended before it began. As a year passed, more songs and bits of information would find themselves leaked or released without further information of an album, and Annie fans were getting frustrated. Finally, Annie found herself working with the label Smalltown Supersounds in collaboration with her own label, Totally Records, and Don't Stop came alive again. Throughout this ordeal, many tracklistings had surfaced, each as different as the last. The final listing is a bit of a shocker as it fails to include some of the songs that caused as much buzz about the album. "I Know UR Girlfriend Hates Me" is absent, as are "Two of Hearts" and the October 2008 single, "Anthonio."

Don't Stop opens with "Hey Annie," a track taking notes from Gwen Stefani's "Hollaback Girl" and Blue Man Group's collab with Venus Hum's "I Feel Love" cover. "Hey Annie" is pulsing, hypnotic, tribal, electronic bleacher-pop. On a similar vibe is the album's title track, although "Don't Stop" is far more commercially appealing than "Hey Annie." "Don't Stop" takes place in space, musically speaking, rather than in the bleachers, and the atmospheric feel of the track makes it really endearing for me. These two tracks really sum up everything I love about Annie. Unfortunately, there isn't a lot else on the album that sounds like them.

"My Love Is Better" is a track you may recognize from before. There was also a bit of controversy surrounding the cut, as it had originally featured Girls Aloud, which was then claimed to have been used without the Girls' permission. The situation resolved well, Annie having said that the Girls were really nice but the label didn't want the vocals used. Despite that fact, "My Love Is Better" sounds like a Girls Aloud reject track. It's fun at parts, but the production by Xenomania makes it sound very similar to tracks from the Girls' album Chemistry, like "Long Hot Summer." "My Love Is Better" is the second single from Don't Stop, preceded by "Songs Remind Me Of You". After being slapped repeatedly with excellent tracks like "I Know UR Girlfriend Hates Me," leading Don't Stop with "Songs Remind Me Of You" was a bit of a diss. The track isn't bad, but it sounds just like La Roux. Which is to say it channels the 80s with modern production styles. Both "I Feel Love" and "Blue Monday" find a home in "Songs Remind Me Of You," and Annie's vocals are definitely good, but the track feels lackluster overall. Not a bad party track, but not a good lead single.

"Bad Times" is another song that strongly mirrors the production style of Girls Aloud tracks, including the way Annie sings it. The song "Marie Cherie," like the Luna Lovegood of music, seems to have floated onto the album by accident. It is ethereal and seems totally out of place on Don't Stop, having very little actual appeal and being about two minutes too long. While still aimlessly in space, Annie seems to have found a beat and employed it on "Take You Home," which is both awkward and enjoyable, but a little too spacey for me. "Loco," again, sounds like a Girls Aloud track but the chorus is catchy. It's a lyrical oddity rather than standing out musically. "When the Night" is beautiful in the vein of "Heartbeat" (although she hasn't matched the beauty of that track, this comes close), and combines atmospheric arrangements and 80s sensibilities for a moving ballad. "Heaven and Hell" bops along playfully at the end of the album.