Pretty Sick's 'Anarchy' Is a Woozy, Fearless Masterpiece of Texture
Sabrina Fuentes was doing nineties-style distortion before the grunge-revival discourse got around to noticing, which makes Anarchy — ten tracks, her second album as Pretty Sick, out on Dirty Hit — the most interesting move available to her: she left. Clash’s James Mellen calls it “a whiplash-inducing departure,” and the record “ditches the fuzz pedals and surrenders itself to a spectrum of electronic sounds.”
The Sonic Breakdown
The Production & Mix
The Low-End: The kick is the star. “Sunset” rides “a Jersey club kick pattern” underneath guitars Mellen describes as “barely legible,” and that inversion — drums up front, guitars submerged — is the album’s governing decision. “Black n Blue” runs the same trade: delicate guitars, heavy drums. The Spatial Dynamics: Oscar Scheller took the bulk of the production, and Clash notes he sidelined his usual “penchant for slick and smart pastiche with throwback sounds” for “a more modern, digital array.” The result is a mix crammed with blown-out textures that somehow holds still. “UrNewImTrue” is distorted to near destruction and remains legible as a song. That’s craft, not accident.
Standout Performance
Fuentes as an editor. Anyone can add a rave kick to a shoegaze track; keeping the vocal tender while the palette gets that abrasive is the hard part.
Why It’s Certified
⚡ “Sunset” and “Black n Blue” are the clearest statements of the new arrangement logic. 🌈 The reference points Clash reaches for — Bassvictim and SALEM as much as The Jesus and Mary Chain — tell you how wide the net is.
Mellen’s verdict, and ours: “Fuentes cultivates a woozy world, lightly flitting between extreme textures whilst managing to retain an air of tenderness.” Certified great.