Anna Shoemaker’s new album Someone Should Stop Her is a breakup album in the sense that it’s about a breakup, though not in the sense that it sees her wallowing in past relationships. Rather, the 12 songs on the pop songwriter’s sophomore release reflect on the crossroads one comes to post-wallowing, when the only way forward is to focus on your own needs. “I felt like I kept having to choose between myself and this person, and the only option in the end was to choose myself,” Shoemaker shares.
Naturally, most of the record takes the form of “sing-/scream-in-the-car songs,” pop-structured mantras for daily commutes and soul-searching road trips intended to get the listener—as well as the artist herself, of course—back on track. Singles like “Game of Thrones” in particular serve the function of centering oneself in a world where that feels increasingly impossible, where TikTok and other inherent sources of competition and exposure to celebrity just about guarantee you to spiral. “[I]f all I think about is Jacob Elordi and myself,” notes Shoemaker, “what else do you expect besides a mental breakdown!”
With the record out today, Shoemaker took us a little deeper into the origins of each song on Someone Should Stop Her, breaking down the lyrical inspiration for these get-your-shit-together tunes. Stream the album and find her thoughts below.
1. “Real Life”
This was one of my favorite songs to write. Constantine (my co-writer and producer) and I wrote it out at his studio in Long Island. It was a result of these weird panic attacks I had started to get after my first-ever tour. I remember we wrote it really fast, and it’s one of the few we actually never edited. I think it was sort of me being like, “This is real life, I need to get my shit together.”
2. “Fields”
We started writing this song the night before we drove down to Nashville to record and finished it in the studio there—which is fitting, because it’s a song about sticking to your gut and running away. We jokingly call it the “New Year's resolution song,” because that’s really what it’s about: keeping the promises you make to yourself.
3. “Game of Thrones”
This is a girl's-brain dump song. We wrote it after probably spending way too much time scrolling on TikTok. It’s impossible not to compare yourself to others on social media, especially other female artists. There’s this constant pressure to be relevant and cool, yet completely unique. It’s enough to send you into a complete spiral. We wrote this song kind of making fun of all of that—like, if all I think about is Jacob Elordi and myself, what else do you expect besides a mental breakdown!
4. “Not Your Baby”
Situationship, situationship, situationship, I plead the fifth…
5. “Back Again”
This song is about wanting to get back together with someone, which is never actually a good idea in hindsight.
6. “Iced Coffee”
This song is about that moment right when you’re leaving someone and all you can think about are those small, beautiful, perfect moments you had with them and you want to literally drive off the road and scream and cry.
7. “Gas Station Parking Lot”
If you could tell by now, this entire album is a breakup record! This song is about that moment when you decide it’s over. I felt like I kept having to choose between myself and this person, and the only option in the end was to choose myself.
8. “Close to the Sun”
“Close to the Sun” is quite literally about flying too close to the sun and realizing that maybe you’re the problem. I really wanted all of the songs to be good sing-/scream-in-the-car songs, and I think this one really does well with that!
9. “Holly”
There always comes a point before the breakup when you start to tell your friends what’s actually going on in your relationship. This song is like, “Listen, you need to get it together because I told Holly we were OK again, this is embarrassing!”
10. “Horse Girl”
This song has taken sooo many shapes—it took us a while to get it to this final form, but ultimately it’s about loving someone a lot but knowing you have to let them go.
11. “Miniskirt”
Listening back to this song makes me sad. It’s about not feeling like you’re enough for someone and running in circles trying to be the person they want you to be. I actually think this was the first of all the songs we wrote, which makes sense. This was the beginning of the end.
12. “Wishful Thinking”
This is my favorite song on the record right now. I think everyone experiences that moment after a breakup when you're like, “Damn, I wish I could go back and do everything differently.” That’s exactly why it's the last song—it’s a reflection on the breakup and the relationship as a whole.
