Pixx is the moniker of 21-year-old London songwriter Hannah Rodgers. At age 19 the Brit School alumni signed to the legendary 4AD records and won over praise from critics with her debut EP Fall In back in 2015. The Age of Anxiety is certainly a strange album. Maybe I just haven’t paid any attention to pop music for years but it’s a hard album to pigeon-hole and that’s probably the point. I’d feel safe saying it’s an electronic orientated pop album. It’s an album full of layering textures and experimentation with production and synthesisers. All the songs are structured in a very pop-orientated way making the album an easy and very enjoyable listen.

The Age of Anxiety is an eclectic one, I had expectations of what this album may sound like. I wasn’t quite prepared for it to be so varied in different styles. There’s loads of different elements to the album. The backings and production suggests the album is mainly pop/electronica-orientated however there’s guitar work that sounds very much indie focused. There’s songs which explore ideas that you would mainly find in modern folk albums.

Opening the album is ‘I Bow Down’ which is probably the biggest mesh of different elements on the album. It has nu-folk elements to it then it develops into a more rock influenced song. It’s a really strange way to start the album as it settles a lot more as it progresses. The first few songs feel like the album is finding its feet a little bit, it’s still trying out different styles before settling on being a more electronic album. Having said that ‘I Bow Down’ is probably a highlight for me, its experimentation works very well and is very clever. It’s very out there. The themes from this carry over into the following tracks before it appears to settle on what kind of album it is.

The main standout feature on the album is Pixx’s vocal. Her voice sounds like it’s being sung in a chamber of a church. It has a level of reverb which makes it sound huge but quite fragile at the same time. It’s almost the sound of a gentle singer, singing in a cave. Pixx is clearly a fan of looping vocal samples, these loops feature in the backing of the majority of songs on the album.

The Age of Anxiety is an album which seems to be completely on the terms of Pixx. It doesn’t sound like it’s trying to be anything or follow any convention it sounds like a collection of Pixx’s music, which is exactly what an album is. Tracks like ‘Telescreen’ don’t seem to fit the mould of what the album “should be” and that’s what makes it interesting. There are plenty of moments and songs that catch you off guard, once you’ve settled on what you think you’re going to get from the album it’ll throw a slight curveball at you.

A clear standout track on the album is ‘Everything Is Weird In America’. It is probably the clearest pop orientated song on the album. It’s got a great wobbly guitar riff throughout the song and serves to show how strong Pixx is as a songwriter. There’s so much that is being explored on the album that takes an incredibly intelligent and creative mind to put together.

Overall The Age of Anxiety is an album full of surprises. The finer details on the album are what makes it great and the nod to many different genres make it a very enjoyable listen. It’s blanketed in a pop sheen which makes the album very accessible, which is a tricky balance to find between accessibility and experimentation. The Age of Anxiety is the groundwork for what seems to be a long career that’ll take you to the unexpected. I’d keep an eye on Pixx if I were you.
Chris Middleton

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