With the kind of stripped-back and vulnerable sound that I find irresistible, Brooklyn-based mucin Anna Shoemaker’s new single Change My Mind glitters with an incandescent earthiness.
Anna’s verse quivers with a human intensity — her vocal enveloped in space, as a guitar is plays gently, the squeal of fingers sliding up-and-down the fretboard almost elevated to the point of being their own instrument. With the chorus, however, Shoemaker’s vocal soars, a previously unexpected gutsiness flooding that space. Guitars take on a more aggressive stance, the folksiness of Change My Mind’s verse suddenly developing a grungy feel.
Anna originally gained attention for No Lie, Bitch Don't Kill My Cocoa Butter Kisses, her cover version mashup of Kendrick Lamar’s Bitch Don’t Kill My Vibe, Chance The Rapper’s Cocoa Butter Kisses, Drake’s Girls Love Beyonce & Destiny's Chid's Say My Name. Since then, she has released two EPs, East Side and Everything Is Embarrassing, received support from Refinery29 and Billboard, and been featured by Spotify and Apple Music.
Despite her origin in that creative mashup, Anna Shoemaker has created a song that feels fascinating and surprising, yet free of gimmicks. Change My Mind is the third song to be lifted from her forthcoming debut album, due in 2022, and depicts a growing maturity and emotional intimacy. Describing the song, Anna says,
“It’s about being hopeful while also accepting and welcoming your emotions as they come. Writing this song really changed a lot for me.”
Check out Change My Mind below, and look out for Anna Shoemaker’s debut album next year.