Anna Shoemaker is officially cutting ties with the way she used to be in her latest album, Someone Should Stop Her. This album marks a new chapter in Anna’s life, so much that she’s definitively declaring it in the opening line. With our attention captured, ‘Real Life’ immediately shows us just how powerful this record will be.
Someone Should Stop Her feels like a late-night gossip session with a best friend. Anna flawlessly describes the ups and downs, the twists and turns of the life of a woman in her twenties. She leaves no stone unturned, no secret held back. And if an earlier truth had to be stretched to avoid a lecture over a previous bad decision, perhaps involving a toxic relationship (see track 9: ‘Holly’), it’s all about to come out right now.
Through twelve songs, we journey through pop perfection with an alternative edge and intimate lyrics that rival your favorite singer-songwriters. As intoxicating as this combination proves to be, we had to get her perspective on her new songs.
And a side note before we get into this exclusive interview with Anna Shoemaker: we can confirm this album is for screaming/singing/crying along in a car, as we have done exactly that at an alarming volume. If scream/sing/cry in the car music is your favorite niche genre, and we know quite a few of you are out there, check out what Anna has to say. And then stream Someone Should Stop Her here!
Welcome to the Honey Pop! For our readers who may not be familiar with your music just yet, can you give us your best elevator pitch?
Hi, thank you for having me! I’d say my music is really good to scream/sing/cry along to in the car.
You’ve described Someone Should Stop Her as a new chapter for you. How do you think you’ve changed as a result of making this album?
I think the making of this album was a result of a change rather than the other way around. Constantine (my producer and co-writer) really helped me grow as a writer. We spent so much time trying to hone in on how we wanted everything to sound, it was really nice to have a partner to do that with.
You’ve also mentioned that Someone Should Stop Her comes after a move from New York to LA. Did this move change anything about the process for creating this album?
I moved after finishing the album! Which is ironic because a lot of the album is about running away- I guess I sort of manifested it!
What inspired the musical shift from your last album Everything Is Fine (I’m Only On Fire) to this one?
I think working with one person on everything really helped to get the more cohesive sound I was looking for. There were glimpses of it for sure on Everything is Fine– I think it’s easy to look back and criticize yourself for your old music but honestly, I really like looking back. It’s like reading an old diary.
“Running circles in a miniskirt” is such an interesting lyric that I feel like we see reflected in the back and forth of the album. For example, ‘Not Your Baby’ is directly followed by “You’re my baby” in ‘Back Again.’ How did you go about putting together the story told through the track list?
For me that’s what being in your twenties is- running in circles, constantly changing your mind in a sort of manic-crazed way. Oh wow, I didn’t actually even realize that! I love that you caught that. We thought a lot about the tracklisting and tried a lot of different things– I honestly don’t even want to say too much because I want the person listening to take their own meaning away from it!
You’ve called ‘Back Again’ your favorite song you’ve ever written. Was there a moment you remember thinking it was something special?
Yeah when we got that demo down we knew it felt really special, it was almost a scary feeling because that’s when we knew we had to change a lot of the songs. It felt like we had just set a new bar!
‘Horse Girl’ is such a powerful song. Is there a story behind the name?
This song is called ‘Horse Girl’ because it’s knowing you have to let someone go. I think that’s horsegirl behavior, no matter how much you love someone you can’t change them or keep them for yourself.
We also love the song ‘Iced Coffee.’ Do you have a signature coffee order?
Just cold brew!! Nothing crazy.
Out of curiosity, why Jacob Elordi?
Have you seen him as Elvis in Priscilla?
Speaking of ‘Game of Thrones,’ it’s of course where we get the title Someone Should Stop Her. How did you decide that this was the right title to pull the album together?
To me, that part of the song just felt like it sort of summed up the entire album. Getting older means realizing people aren’t necessarily going to stop you from making bad decisions. There have been these points in my life recently where I’m like is this okay?? Is anyone going to tell me to stop???
Young women singing about personal topics that you cover on this album often get so much support from other young women who relate. What kind of community have you found while touring your music in the last year?
It seriously means so much to me! I love touring because I love getting to meet everyone and connect. It’s really crazy to me when people say they resonate with the things I sing about. I have a very open relationship with anyone who listens to my music- we’re dming all the time!
While on tour, we also couldn’t help but notice how stylish your merch is. Did you have any involvement in the design of your merch?
Thank you!!! Yes my manager Sydney and I came up with all of it! She’s amazing and has such good taste – she helps me make everything.
The music videos for this album are also very interesting. On the one hand, we’ve got the goats (and the very cute cat) in ‘Holly.’ Did you have go into this one with a concrete plan or did you let the animals lead this one?
We had done the ‘Holly’ video before all of the other videos but I definitely wanted to keep everything outside! I feel so lucky to work with Josefine Cardoni, she’s such an amazing director. We definitely went out to Montana with a concrete plan but I always leave room for things that come together in the moment!
Then we have the cinematic storytelling of the ‘Game of Thrones’ video, complete with voicemails from your friends and family, which feels much more deliberate than ‘Holly.’ How did the two processes differ?
I wanted ‘Game of Thrones’ to feel more like a proper music video that represented the whole album- this idea of running away from your problems was really important to me.
Thanks for chatting with us! We’ve gotten to talk about some of our favorites from the album. Do you have a favorite song or lyric on Someone Should Stop Her that you haven’t had the chance to talk about yet?
I think the last track on the album ‘Wishful Thinking’ will always be one of my favorites. It felt really good to write and I love performing it!
Although we could talk to Anna about Someone Should Stop Her for hours, we’ll wrap it up there. Good news is, we’re always willing to talk more on our socials. If you already have a favorite song, let us know! If not, give it a listen now and then meet us at @thehoneypop on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
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