Our series Track by Track has artists guide readers through each song on their newest release. Today, rising rockers Anxious take us through their new sophomore album, Bambi. Also check out our other top choices of albums to stream out today.
“We should have named the band ‘Bambi.’”
That’s the sentiment Anxious vocalist Grady Allen remembered expressing to his bandmates as their second record, Bambi, began to take shape. With the new album dropping today (via Run for Cover), it’s clear the idea of the band that could have been is baked into each and every song. It’s almost as if it’s a self-titled record for an alternate version of the Connecticut quintet.
And that’s not to suggest that Bambi is some wild concept record that finds the act playing characters á la Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, nor is it to say that the ideas of their wonderful debut, Little Green House, are dead and gone. Rather, it’s an artistic evolution of Anxious translated through the obsessive contemplation of untaken paths and consequential past decisions.
“My portion of lyrics on the record primarily deal with loss of faith,” Allen tells Consequence. “Losing faith in the world I’ve created for myself through music, losing faith in my ability to make decisions, and losing faith in the truest and deepest romantic connection I’ve ever cultivated.”
Ironically, it’s through that loss of faith that Anxious finds solid ground. The instrumentals are as hooky and impressive as ever, the lyrics are engaging and emotional, and the whole thing wraps up with “I’ll Be Around,” a grand ode to friendship with heroic guitars and surprisingly gentle vocal melodies. Maybe they should have called the band “Bambi,” but if going with “Anxious” led them to this new batch of tracks, we have faith that it all worked out in the end.
Stream Bambi below. Then, keep reading to learn about each song on the new album as Allen and guitarist/co-vocalist Dante Melucci break the record down track by track.