Run For Cover Records is a label that has a good ear for music. They have signed bands like Modern Baseball, Turnover, and in today’s case Anxious.
Anxious is an alt-rock/emo band from Fairfield, Connecticut that has been on the rise lately. The band has been around since 2016 writing an EP and releasing singles. They saw a rise in the emo community through their EP “Carved” and singles “Goodbye” and “Bled White.” The band started on Triple B Records playing some tours and opening for other groups.
Eventually, they caught the attention of Run for Cover Records which had bands like Modern Baseball, Turnover, and Citizen on their label. The band was announced as members of the label on August 16, 2021 accompanying a new single “Call From You”. Anxious has since debuted one full-length album by the title of Little Green House on January 21, 2022. Little Green House is an album that was put together during the pandemic when their original plans were to tour and play shows. The pandemic saw the group reflect on the material they had been writing which would become Little Green House and even though their plans of playing shows were halted, the time off was worth it when looking at this album and the material within it.
The title of Little Green House comes from the setting where the album was put together. Picking the place of creation as the name for the album helps build a comforting sense of home for the listener. It brings the listener closer to the music like they were around for the creation process with the band. Lead singer Grady Allen wrote on Bandcamp that the album looks at relationships with others and the idea of introspectively on oneself. Those themes are highlighted throughout this entire album. Even though the album shares themes throughout, each song presents them in a distinctive and fresh manner that keeps the listener hooked throughout. One thing to love about this record was the band’s approach to the record and its sound. To them a replicated sound or a sound that didn’t sound like Anxious didn’t matter. They just cared that it represented them, and they conquered that mission.
As soon as you start this album with the track “Your One Way Street” you are thrust into everything you should expect going forward in the album. You are hit with hard-hitting instrumentals, screams, great vocals, and heavy themes and the album doesn’t let up. This keeps going throughout the album but does slow down slightly for the beautiful acoustic track “Wayne.” “Wayne” is an acoustic track you can add to any chill playlist with its sweet vocals and background vocals, chill acoustic guitar, and lyrics revolving around the themes of not being enough. “When I worry I don’t measure up / You tell me all the right words I don’t know.” Things don’t stay slowed down for long as the band kicks right back into it with the hard-hitting track “Speechless” which with help of its guitar, drums, and vocals makes this one of the hardest songs on the album.
Anxious does switch things up one more time with the very last track on the album, “You When You’re Gone.” This track is the lightest track on the album, changing up the band’s sound completely. The sound brings a sound very reminiscent of tracks off Jimmy Eat World’s Bleed American. The guest vocals from Stella Branstool are a change of pace that could have easily thrown off the album, but they are such a welcome addition to this song and album blending with the band perfectly. This song also features one of the best lyrics on the entire album, “No one will miss you / When you’re gone, but I’ll still love you.” Other highlight tracks on this album include the emo anthem “Growing Up Song” and the musically crisp “Afternoon.”
Little Green House is one of those albums you never knew you wanted till you gave it a listen. If you have an itch for some new emo music, then this album is just the ticket to scratch it. It also proves that Anxious is going to be a band to be on the lookout for as their future seems to be very bright as they just released a new track called “Sunsign” which continues the sounds heard from Little Green House. The band is also currently on tour with Oso Oso and M.A.G.S. They will be performing at the Act Like You Know Festival in November in Tulsa, Oklahoma. You can check out tour dates on the band’s website here.
