Anne Freeman - "City Watched Me Burn"

Anne Freeman’s latest single, “City Watched Me Burn,” is catered precisely to my musical tastes. The Memphis-based songwriter includes nearly everything I love about guitar music on the track, including some summery harmonies, effervescent melodies, lyrics that imbue a sense of nostalgia, and warm, natural guitar tones. These are, in my humble opinion, the key ingredients in crafting an indie-pop anthem, and Freeman absolutely nails this formula on her second solo effort.

“City Watched Me Burn” is intriguing from its very early moments. The jangly, Beatles-esque sounding guitars burst through the doors immediately, and if you didn’t know any better, you’d swear the first ten seconds were something salvaged from the cutting room floor of Abbey Road studios. That’s a very good thing in my book, as even in my thirties, the intros to “She Said, She Said” and “Doctor Robert” still bring a smile to my face. Freeman definitely achieves a similar vibe through her buzzy guitar strums and ringing licks, especially in the soaring hooks in the bridges, and her vocal melodies help to add an extra layer of wistfulness. Her colorful and resonant voice sounds like a perfect twee hybrid of Molly Rankin of Alvvays and Tracyanne Campbell of Camera Obscura, as she recounts a therapeutic night spent out on the town in the midst of a personal rut. 

Freeman also shared a fun video that matches the track’s sonic mood, capturing shots of her singing under an orange sunset, bowling, and strumming her guitar on the lanes. It’ll for sure have you reminiscing about fun nights out. Stream it below!

“City Watched Me Burn” will appear on Freeman’s forthcoming full-length, Keep It Close, which is out on June 25th via Muscle Beach Records. You can pre-order it via Bandcamp. You can also stream her music on Spotify. Keep up with her by following her on Instagram and liking her on Facebook.