SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: ANNA SHOEMAKER – BACK TO PENNSYLVANIA

ANNA SHOEMAKER
BACK TO PENNSYLVANIA
+1 RECORDS

Philadelphia-based singer-songwriter Anna Shoemaker is back with her third studio album Back To Pennsylvania, released October 16 via +1 Records. Shoemaker wrote the album after moving back home to the suburbs of Pennsylvania. For some, moving back home can be viewed as a sign of failure but with Anna Shoemaker’s Back To Pennsylvania she makes it sound like a cleansing ritual. The record is 10 tracks of a journey of rediscovery, growth, and reliability.

In the title track, “Back To Pennsylvania,” Shoemaker takes us along for the ride. We are in the car with her as she makes the trip back home. Anna Shoemaker has been gifted the ability to curate a sound that feels more intimate, as if sitting in a friend’s bedroom and listening to a slumber-party confession. The folksy twang gives the feel of driving through town with the windows down or a late-night car ride with an unknown destination. “Back To Pennsylvania” is more than a breakup song, it’s a proclamation, one that feels like dusting yourself off and coming out on the other side a better version of yourself.

Anna Shoemaker has the brilliant ability to turn pain into something beautiful. She fills her album with hope for future love with songs like “Clover,” which sounds like the belief that love can still happen even after heartache. Anna Shoemaker’s reliability is something that can easily connect her to any audience.

Artist Links