A lot’s happened since we last heard from Ladyhawke. There’s been a General Election. Plan B did the soul singer thing. Nicola Roberts released a solo album. Some genius made chocolate Philadelphia.

Anxiety is the second studio album by New Zealand recording artist Ladyhawke, released on 25 May 2012 by Modular Recordings. It was recorded in early 2011 with long.

All that and more has changed the UK’s outlook forever in the four years since New Zealander Pip Brown released her self-titled debut album. Crazy Town The Gift Of Game Rar. While it’s reductive to glance over what her 2008 synth-loving contemporaries are up to now, we’re going to do it anyway. Little Boots has moved from Human League to Italo disco. Lady Gaga’s gone global. La Roux introduced Skream to the mainstream. So where does this leave Ladyhawke?

Holding all their coats after her extended break? Here’s the answer ‘Anxiety’ took almost two years to make. Working with long-time collaborator and producer Pascal Gabriel, Pip’s ditched the synthy hooks of her debut and replaced them with a six-string guitar.

There’s a lot of ‘full band’ action on ‘Anxiety’, with most of the instruments played by Pip. Strangely, these additions steer the album into college rock territory. Opener ‘Girl Like Me’ is a tale of betrayal with a Breeders slant, while its “[i]Between the devil and the deep blue sea/I saw you dancing with a girl like me[/i]” chorus shows a far more confident woman than the one tentatively reaching for a hand in 2008. And confidence is an overriding theme on ‘Anxiety’, despite the hesitant title. It sees Pip brave enough to own up to flaws and fears, especially in the brilliant title track. She even addresses the deep-set anxiety issues that meant Ladyhawke couldn’t even chat to the crowd between tracks when she first started playing live: “[i]I’ve always been so cautious, but I’m so sick of feeling nauseous[/i]”.

She’s gone from Stevie Nicks to Sleater-Kinney. Then there’s ‘Cellophane’, a stadium-sized torch song, which opens with, “[i]Don’t sleep tonight, we’re on the night train/To anywhere but here[/i]”.

Triumphant stuff.

Ladyhawke performing at the in, England, on 25 May 2009 Background information Birth name Phillipa Margaret Brown Also known as Pip Brown Born ( 1979-07-13) 13 July 1979 (age 38), Genres,, Occupation(s) Singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist Instruments Vocals, bass guitar, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, drums, keyboards, synthesiser Years active 2001–present Labels,, Associated acts,, Website Phillipa Margaret 'Pip' Brown (born 13 July 1979), better known by her stage name Ladyhawke, is a New Zealand singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. She took her stage name from 's 1985 film. Brown was part of the -based band (2001–2003), before moving to Australia where, in 2004, she formed the art rock band with of. In 2007 she moved to, and she relocated to around 2013. Brown's debut solo album,, was released on 22 September 2008 through, and topped the. It spawned five singles of which ' was the most successful.

At the, Ladyhawke won Breakthrough Artist in both album and single categories. Brown's second solo album,, was released in May 2012, and her third solo album,, was released on 3 June 2016. Contents • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Early life [ ] Phillipa Margaret Brown was born on 13 July 1979 in, a town in the region of New Zealand. She came from a musical family, with her mother being a singer–guitarist and her stepfather, a drummer. During her childhood, various illnesses and allergies kept her in and out of the hospital. At age ten she contracted, a disease that is common in and but had not been seen in humans in New Zealand for twenty years. Her allergies to and greatly complicated treatment efforts and almost put her into a coma, and she came close to dying.