Damn, Anna Straker is good! It’s very easy to forget she’s just 19, so you do. That’s until that teenage fire burns bright in her killer lyricisms, the sort of which form the base for many of the belters she’s churned out already from such a young age. The latest of which arrives irresistible and titled ‘Ignite Me‘.
We got a small taste of what Straker is about in EP form last year; sensual, tender, experimental and fresh, then at least. She’s a different animal here though; utilising R&B rhythms, old school pop and house dynamics and a few of her own future-facing touches whilst nodding to soul, the ’90s and noughties along the way too.
There’s true magic at work here, the way genres, sounds and styles are intertwined and bended to the point the musical handbook is totally re-written, torn up and re-imagined all over again is quite mindblowing.
It really is special. That killer kick into the chrous provided by a monumental hip-hop/old school dance beat that has you imagining Mike Skinner standing out of shot in the studio nodding in approval. The spoken word style of the verses, the constant nods to observations of city night life as a teen, the on the money descriptions of clubs; the bar queues, the sweat hitting you on entry, the sticky floors, strobe lights.
It’s a wonderfully executed, masterfully lyricised banger moulded from the poetic details of a bad night out when you know it’s totally shit and you really don’t belong.
There’s enough songs about how city nightlife is great and nothing weird or bad ever happens, so hearing a musical representation of the alternative that we all know exists is a welcome change. In ‘Ignite Me‘, Anna Straker has delivered a hugely relatable banger that deseves major recognition.
We Close Tonight 