sadie: Better Angels

"The music of sadie, the New York-based artist née Anna Schwab, finds common ground between the bedroom pop of early Clairo and Charli XCX's rare straightforward ballads. The Auto-Tuned vocals and quirky drum programming of her early releases veered towards hyperpop territory, but her music isn't interested in ambushing the listener with that genre's frenetic sounds and fast BPMs; instead, it creates a cozy, emotionally vulnerable environment."

"For her debut album, which she made after leaving a decade-long relationship, sadie reached for an acoustic guitar to create a collection of songs that subtly fleshes out her sound with analog instrumentation. Compared to peers boasting fancy Dave Fridmann mixes or recreating mainstream pop from first principles, Sadie finds her niche by embracing negative space and staying grounded."

"The record feels like a bedroom variation on the moody, sparse pop of the late 2010s, incorporating the chorused guitars of recent hypnagogic pop and some early '00s melodies. The octave-jumping outro on "Wash" and verse melody on "Salt" are so sweet, they evoke turn-of-the-millennium radio hits like Michelle Branch's "Breathe" or Natasha Bedingfield's "Unwritten"-but sadie's distorted drum kits and disembodied guitars evolve the music past pure pastiche."

"The lyrics are similarly minimal, often serving as texture until an emotion breaks through. On "Arms Wide," sadie sings, "So what? I don't really care that much" on the chorus-but the more she repeats it, the more she sounds like a narrator who actually does want to feel everythi"

sadie’s music connects early bedroom pop sensibilities with rare, straightforward ballad writing, using Auto-Tuned vocals and quirky drum programming while avoiding hyperpop’s frantic ambush. Her debut album, created after leaving a long relationship, shifts toward acoustic guitar and analog instrumentation to deepen the sound. The record stays grounded through negative space and moody, sparse late-2010s pop textures, adding chorused guitars and occasional early-2000s melodic echoes. Specific tracks use octave-jumping outros, sweet verse melodies, and well-timed two-step beats that leave room for drums to land. Synths and cellos add lush color without breaking the intimate atmosphere. Lyrics remain minimal, often functioning as texture until emotion surfaces through repetition.

Read at Pitchfork