Pretty Sick Makes Peace with the Mess on ‘Anarchy’

Sabrina Fuentes turns genre-bending production into a portrait of emotions

New York artist Sabrina Fuentes, the vocalist and songwriter behind Pretty Sick, returns with the bold and experimental Anarchy. Released Sept. 11 through Dirty Hit, it is a mix of shoegaze, alternative rock, electronic and club-inspired production. Although there are so many layers to this album, the songs are able to move through each genre seamlessly without feeling like overkill. Overall, Anarchy feels like an album immersed in identity. Fuentes wrestles with topics such as confidence, insecurity, fame, independence and attachment. 

“Star” sets up the album immediately. The song is coated in distorted audio and repeats the line “God I love being so famous,” and one-liners like “Now that you’re a star, you're adored.” The song's confidence feels almost exaggerated, especially alongside lines such as “nothing ever hurts anymore.” This sets a tone of numbness and emotional suppression, using popularity and materialism.

The track that follows, titled “Needles,” picks that image apart. The vocals become softer and dreamier, and the repeated line “please don’t make me wait” at the end sounds more vulnerable than the lyricism in “Star.” It feels as if “Star” is the outside perspective of fame, while “Needles” unravels the hidden emotions that come with being so well-known. This contrast is one of the most interesting aspects of the album. One song can sound as if she is completely untouchable, and then the next can feel defenseless and exposed.

The title track “Anarchy” has less distortion, making Fuentes’ voice sound clearer, allowing more of her range to shine. There is still anger within this song, but it feels mixed with acceptance. In this, she allows herself to sound more uncertain rather than powerful and nonchalant. “City Kid” brings back the confidence in a completely different way. The groovy beat creates an urge to dance, and the line “You gotta put some respect on me / I'm in high demand, but you slept on me” shows that its main idea is knowing your own self-worth. This could definitely be used as a manifestation song. “UrNewImTrue” is one of the album's more electronic tracks, and it opens with loud and heavy production that can command any room. The lyrics are club-focused, being about money, clout and being imitated. 

“Hyper Independence” further complicates Fuentes’ feelings. It stays musically steady for most of the song, but its lyrics reveal someone who clearly does not want to be as independent as they claim. Fuentes imagines building a home with someone only for the reality of expensive rent to get in the way, and later admits that she cannot handle losing the person she seems to be in love with. The song does not need a huge musical change to emphasize the sensitivity within it. Its consistency almost works in its favor because the emotion stays underneath everything rather than exploding. “Sunset” takes that same uncertainty into a more melancholic space combined with trap-influenced beats. There is something almost detached about the way the beat sits underneath the song, creating tension between its subdued mood and pulsating production. “Back n Blue” continues that darker mood with lines about being alone while everyone else is having fun, yet there is something romantic about its sadness. 

By the final songs, Anarchy feels like an album about trying to figure out which feeling is real. In “Home2hide”  Fuentes admits that she runs home to hide herself after someone sees through her disguise. Then “Prosperity” closes the 29-minute album with the repeated feeling of being “between worlds”. Its distorted guitar and electronic production bring together many of the sounds heard throughout the entire record.

What makes Anarchy work beyond all of its genre changes is the sense of discomfort that runs underneath the album. At first, Fuentes seems completely in control, but the further the album goes, the harder it becomes to believe any of those things are that simple. Fuentes wants attention, love and recognition, but she also seems exhausted by what comes with being perceived.

The album does not treat love, independence or confidence as things that cancel each other out. Instead, they keep running into each other. Musically, that emotional confusion is reflected everywhere. All the sounds can make the songs almost excessive at times, but that excess fits the album. Anarchy sounds like someone trying on different versions of themselves and seeing which one feels right. 

The album is the most compelling when the production and lyrics are fighting against each other. Something can sound euphoric while the words underneath it are lonely. By the end, Anarchy does not leave behind one clear image of Fuentes, and that seems to be the point. It is an album about wanting to have control over how you are seen while knowing that there are parts of you that cannot be controlled at all.