Anxious is the only studio album by English-Canadian singer Nell Smith.[2] It was posthumously released on 11 April 2025, by UK-based label Bella Union.[1][4]
Nell Smith (born 17 July 2007; Leeds, England) died at the age of 17 after being involved in a car crash in Alberta on 6 October 2024.[2][5][6] She was contributing to the filming of a music video for her single "Split in the Sky" at the time.[2]
Background
Announced on 6 February 2025, by Bella Union,[7] the album precedes Smith's collaborative project with the Flaming Lips, Where the Viaduct Looms.[8] It was recorded in the label's studio in Brighton, and produced by sibling duo, Jack and Lily Walter. Consisting of ten songs, the album incorporates elements of indie pop.[2]
The title track was released as the lead single on the same date as the album's announcement, alongside a music video.[9][10] It was described by American Songwriter as "a bright, psych-pop track that explores moments of anxiety and self-consciousness."[11] The second single of the album, "Billions of People", was released on 20 March 2025. It was written in 2022 after Smith toured with the Flaming Lips in England.[12] The third single, "Daisy Fields", was released on 11 April 2025, together with the album.[13]
AllMusic's Heather Phares noted that "Smith was only getting started on Anxious, and its poignant, eloquent peek into teenage girlhood is something to be cherished."[14]Consequence described the album as "an upbeat slice of psych-pop in which Smith expresses her love of music as a way to cope with anxiety."[1]Montreal Rocks commented "So many debut albums try to sound older, wiser, more polished than they need to be. Anxious doesn't do that. It leans into its youth. There's joy in the way it experiments, in the way it invites odd sounds into the mix just to see what happens."[3]Spin referred to the album as a "collection of teenage hopes, fears, and emotions, but always expressed with a bright, 'Why not?' energy of experimentation. Think Regina Spektor fronting The Flaming Lips and you'll be close—but still not quite at Smith's indie pop sound."[15]
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
