A sophomore album can be a tricky one for the artist, but for the listener? It holds the promise of vindication in your faith in a band. When Connecticut’s own Anxious dropped their debut back in 2022, we knew they were on to something special with their bubblegum-emo-with-hardcore-roots sound. Three years later, we’re proved right. ‘Bambi’ is a record wise beyond it’s years, with the weight of acceptance kept aloft by youthful optimism and a whole lot of hummable, dreamlike choruses.
Of the three singles to date, ‘Counting Sheep’ feels the youngest with it’s softly floating affection that breaks into a full throated scream from Grady Allen. They’ve created a gorgeous juxtaposition that runs throughout the song – a static image of a sleeping loved one conveyed though frantic guitar thrashing – and it’s so endearing, not just in it’s adoration but also by revealing the intricacies of what Anxious can create. Then we’ve got the listing, chanting ‘Head & Spine’, a song with a solid stance and even stronger basslines, and the way they add a touch of prettiness into what’s clearly hardcore is exactly what we want in our headphones. ‘Some Girls’ feels most outside their wheelhouse, touching on the Jimmy Eat World proto-emo sound with it’s weary hopes and empathetic chords.
But then, just when you think you’ve got a grip on where Anxious are going, they give us ‘Audrey Go Again’, a song so tender that you fear by listening too hard you might tear it like tissue paper. It’s just an incredibly sweet heartbreak song that shows that we can’t take them for granted. Sometimes being true to yourself means making the odd soppy love song, and you’ve got to appreciate them for that, though perhaps we should have seen it coming considering the way ‘Bambi’ opens. First track ‘Never Said’ could be the primer for the whole album experience: a long intro that drifts like waves until a crashing, harder rock song, rich in hope and regret, smacks into you. The softer tracks play so well into the bigger, brasher numbers, highlighting that they’re extending themselves at both ends of the spectrum of their sound.
The complexities of relationships in 2025 permeate ‘Bambi’, and not just wondering what your partner is thinking about when they’re napping as they do on ‘Counting Sheep’. “Tell me why would I fall for you, in spite of everything you do?” Allen asks on ‘Tell Me Why’, and the reassurance in the backing that carries through even in the distortion-heavy solo gives a sense of simultaneous closeness and emotional distance. They’re carrying on the proud emo tradition of addressing the unseen ‘you’, and it’s a comforting trope that works for them.“You were so tired /still you kept me up,” Allen reflects, and ‘Sunder’ is a song that transforms his longing into gorgeous mini-instrumentals. They leave us with ‘I’ll Be Around’, a song that feels like a promise of better times to come (perhaps literally, considering they’re hitting the UK on tour later this year), all euphoric choruses and hopeful notes.
‘Bambi’ is a record that doesn’t neatly fit into a genre box, or even a particular adjective. Instead, it casually rolls from one to the other as a touching collection of tracks that show off a love of hardcore and a desire to do something clever with it. It’d be an exciting album for any band, but as a second outing? It shows ‘Bambi’ is an album to make you sit up and take notice.
KATE ALLVEY