I feel old.

Review Score:

C+

March 12th / 2025 –

Anna Shoemaker’s sophomore album is really more an album that takes place in the midst of a breakup than it is a breakup album. Shoemaker really spends more of the album’s relatively short runtime exploring her self than the relationship that seems to have inspired this project. And that’s admirable in itself. But from start to finish, I was left wanting more from this project than I got.

The standout track here is “Holly”, which I first recall hearing two, maybe even three years ago. It’s the album’s most energetic song, and it also feels like the climax to the story Anna Shoemaker is trying to tell here. It has a great hook, it’s catchy, and it’s one of those songs I throw on a playlist when someone asks me to put them on to something.

“Not Your Baby” and “Back Again” were also solid tracks. The former is one of the few tracks that felt truly evocative. “Back Again” is simple, but has a cool melody. That’s it. It’s cool. And “Gas Station Parking Lot” sounds like a High School Musical song, which I mean in a good way. I think it’s the one that Sharpay and Ryan sing for their audition in the first one.

At the end of the day, I was left fairly uninspired by this one. This album somehow made me feel old. I don’t know why or how. I’m 24, and yet I feel somehow alienated by this project. There are no standout lyrics to criticize, nor are there standout lyrics to praise. The album is short on subtext, which isn’t always a problem. But in the case of Someone Should Stop Her, it’s an anchor. And I mean that in the sense that this album doesn’t really go anywhere. Short of the album’s lead single, “Holly”, many of the tracks do little to differentiate themselves. Sorry. Anna seems sweet. But this doesn’t do anything for me.

Review Score:

C+

Gubb wrote this review. You can’t get mad at Gubb.