Annie - Don't Stop (2009)

Annie ran into some obstructions on the way to the release of her second album. Don't Stop was supposed to come out on Island well over a year before it was finally issued on Norway’s Smalltown Supersound; Island had gone as far as releasing "I Know UR Girlfriend Hates Me" as a single and video, as well as a cover of Stacey Q’s "Two of Hearts" as a promotional single, but Annie and Island split, and Don’t Stop finally surfaced with a different track list that included neither "Girlfriend" nor "Hearts." As on Anniemal, Don't Stop contains some of the catchiest, most clever dance-pop in circulation, highlighted by the fizzy "I Don't Like Your Band," one of three songs produced by Paul Epworth (Bloc Party, Florence and the Machine). Nearly as ensnaring as "Chewing Gum," Annie’s taunting, attitudinal wordplay is in top form, with "It's not you, it's your tunes" closely followed by a pointedly insincere-sounding "I feel bad." The collaborations with Xenomania (five songs), Timo Kaukolampi (three), and Richard X (one) aren’t as powerful, however, with a good handful of their songs no match for Anniemal’s weaker moments. The worst of all, "The Breakfast Song," has a chorus and call-and-response that resemble a flabby M.I.A. parody. [Some copies came with a bonus disc, the All Night EP, which included "I Know UR Girlfriend Hates Me" and some other material that originally leaked prior to the album's release.]