Nell Smith Anxious
Nell Smith's Anxious arrives as a fragile triumph, a debut that threads youthful optimism through elegiac moments to powerful effect. Critics note that the record's title song “Anxious” and “Billions Of People” act as emotional anchors, while tracks like “Daisy Fields” and “The Worst Best Drug” reveal Smith's knack for marrying playful arrangement with aching lyricism. Across professional reviews, those standout songs emerge repeatedly as the best songs on Anxious, folding textural contrast and dreamlike production into performances that feel timeless rather than merely pretty.
The critical consensus, reflected in an 87/100 score across 2 professional reviews, praises Smith's breathy, intimate voice and the album's balance of experimentation and emotional clarity. Far Out Magazine highlights the record's hushed grandeur and how repeated listens unlock its rewards, while Spin emphasizes spirited invention - twinkling synths, looping guitars and sparkling piano - that keeps the collection alive. Reviewers consistently point to themes of innocence versus heartbreak, first love and loss, and they regard the album both as a moving posthumous document and as evidence of a youthful talent with room to grow.
While admiration is near-universal, critics temper their praise with a sense of melancholy: the record's memorial undertow colors its joyous experiments, making it as soul-crushing as it is inspiring. Taken together, the reviews suggest Anxious is worth listening to for anyone seeking standout tracks and a debut that balances bright invention with elegy, a brief but lasting statement in Nell Smith's catalogue.
Critics' Top Tracks
The standout songs that made critics take notice
Anxious
2 mentions
"Nell Smith and ‘Anxious’ as a stirring celebration of rememberance"— Far Out Magazine
Billions Of People
2 mentions
"these songs can be a lasting part of her for friends and family even after she has passed"— Far Out Magazine
Daisy Fields
2 mentions
"Penelope Isle’s hazy, dreamlike nature comes through wonderfully"— Far Out Magazine
Nell Smith and ‘Anxious’ as a stirring celebration of rememberance
Track Ratings
How critics rated each track, relative to this album (0-100). Only tracks that made critics feel something are rated.
Anxious
Daisy Fields
Bubba
The Worst Best Drug
Service Song
Boy In A Bubble
Splash
I Know Nothing
Billions Of People
Split In The Sky
What Critics Are Saying
Deep insights from 4 critics who reviewed this album
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Critic's Take
Nell Smith's debut Anxious reads like a fragile triumph, a record that makes you linger on her breathy, dreamy voice and the way songs like “Anxious” and “Billions Of People” land like small miracles. Dale Maplethorpe writes with a tender, elegiac clarity: the album is both inspiring and soul-crushing, where the standout songs feel timeless rather than merely pretty. For listeners searching for the best songs on Anxious, it is Smith's intimate, serene vocal turns that mark tracks such as “Anxious” as the high points, and the hushed grandeur of “Billions Of People” as an emotional center. The record rewards repeated listens, its best tracks revealing themselves slowly, insistently, and without cheap sentimentality.
Key Points
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The title track “Anxious” stands out for its intimate, dreamlike vocal showcase and emotional resonance.
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The album's core strengths are Smith's serene, timeless voice and the hazy, nostalgic production that frames her songs.
Themes
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Critic's Take
Nell Smith's Anxious makes a persuasive case for the best songs on the album precisely because they balance playfulness and craft. The title track “Anxious” is singled out as a witty, poppy centerpiece with twinkling synths and horns, while “The Worst Best Drug” and “Daisy Fields” show her knack for mixing sparkling piano or looping guitars with big, tender ideas. Brendan Hay's prose keeps circling Smith's joyous experimentation and evident vocal gifts, arguing that these best tracks prove the record is a debut of possibility, not merely a memorial. In short, the best songs on Anxious feel alive and inventive, and they make you hear what might have been as something bright, not just tragic.
Key Points
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The title track “Anxious” is best for its inventive layering and witty, poppy cohesion.
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The album's core strengths are youthful experimentation, strong vocals, and striking textural contrasts that keep it feeling like a debut full of possibility.