Don't Stop (Annie album)

In May 2008, Popjustice called the album "a complete modern masterpiece", while revealing the title (Don't Stop) and the first track listing.[3] Pitchfork posted a different track listing two months later, which excluded a track entitled "Perfectly Honest", while "Misery" was renamed "I Can't Let Go".[4]

British girl group Girls Aloud initially provided backing vocals for "My Love Is Better".[3] Annie received tabloid attention when various publications wrote that the group requested "My Love Is Better" be removed from the album. Producer Brian Higgins was reported to have included vocal tracks from a Girls Aloud demo in the song without their permission.[5] Annie told Digital Spy in an interview that "it's not as dramatic as they said in the papers", citing problems with the record company. "Brian asked them if they'd like to help out. They were really up for it and came into my studio and it was really fun."[6] The issue was resolved and the song remained on Annie's album. She continued, "of course their record company said no and they ended up not singing on the song after all. I thought it was a little bit stupid but what can you say? It wasn't my choice. They were really nice, very sweet."[7]

Alex Kapranos and Nick McCarthy of Franz Ferdinand play guitar on "Loco".[8] "I Can't Let Go" features guest vocals from Fredrik Saroea of Datarock.[3] The album cover shows Annie wearing a dress by French fashion designer Jean-Charles de Castelbajac.[9]

The first single was initially going to be a cover of Stacey Q's 1986 song "Two of Hearts", backed with "Songs Remind Me of You".[10] The release was listed as "still forthcoming" on producer Richard X's official website during a period of time.[11] It was suggested that the album could see an April 2008 release.[10]

A sampler album was released in April for promotional purposes, containing the songs "I Know UR Girlfriend Hates Me", "My Love Is Better", "When the Night", "Marie Cherie" and "Songs Remind Me of You".[12] A megamix containing samples of the album's songs was subsequently released.[13]

On 22 September 2008, Annie's manager Kathrine Synnes told Norwegian newspaper Dagbladet that the album's release had been postponed to 2009 so that Island Records could spend more time on the album.[14]

Annie reported in a Myspace blog post on 8 October 2008 that "Two of Hearts" would be released as the next single from Don't Stop on 27 October 2008 but was cancelled last minute due to legal issues with Island Records.[15] The following month, Annie left Island Records, taking the masters of the album with her. She subsequently announced that Don't Stop would be released in 2009 with a different track listing from the one leaked onto the Internet.[16]

The album finally saw a release on 19 October 2009 with a revised track listing and new artwork.[17] New songs "Hey Annie", title track "Don't Stop" and "I Don't Like Your Band" were added to the album's final track listing. "I Know UR Girlfriend Hates Me" and "Anthonio" were released on a bonus disc, titled All Night EP, among "Sweet", "I Can't Let Go" and new song "All Night".

According to Nielsen SoundScan, Don't Stop had sold 6,000 copies in the United States as of August 2013.[18]

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	77/100[27]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[28]
The A.V. Club	B+[1]
Drowned in Sound	7/10[29]
Entertainment Weekly	B+[2]
The Guardian	[30]
musicOMH	[31]
NME	8/10[32]
Pitchfork	7.2/10[33]
Rolling Stone	[34]
Slant Magazine	[35]

Don't Stop received generally positive reviews from most music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 77, based on 22 reviews.[27] Joseph Brannigan Lynch of Entertainment Weekly described the album as "a savvy mix of energetic early-'80s synth-pop and indie electronic", noting that Annie is "as close to LCD Soundsystem as to Kylie Minogue. Her vocals switch between seen-it-all sass and breathy melancholy with convincing ease."[2] The Guardian's Michael Hann praised it as "a delightful confection, filled with attention to detail and perfectly turned—and deserving of your attention."[30] The A.V. Club's Michaelangelo Matos referred to the album's music as "high-grade, glossy electro-pop, heavily indebted to the '80s."[1] BBC Music reviewer Ian Wade stated that "Don't Stop is 12 slices of sublime pop genius, and one ranks right up there with the best contemporary female pop."[36] Michael Cragg of musicOMH raved, "Featuring some of the most inventive producers in pop and steered by a singer who knows her way round a catchy melody or five, Don't Stop is one of the best pop albums of 2009."[31] Drowned in Sound's David Renshaw called the album "brilliant", adding that "[t]he production throughout Don't Stop is noticeably strong. The sound is taught and modern but avoids the current pitfalls of sounding like a prime cut of Stock, Aitken and Waterman Eighties chart fodder or a Timbaland reject circa the year 2001".[29]

Christopher Muther of The Boston Globe viewed the album as "an electro-pop truffle—a tasty confection with a hard, glossy shell surrounding a smooth, melt-in-your-ear interior of cheeky, playful lyrics", while commending Annie for her "incredible knack for marrying Pat Benatar's lip-gloss feminist swagger with playful dance-club melodies."[37] AllMusic critic Andy Kellman wrote, "As on Anniemal, Don't Stop contains some of the catchiest, most clever dance-pop in circulation, highlighted by the fizzy 'I Don't Like Your Band'", but argued that the collaborations with Xenomania, Timo Kaukolampi and Richard X "aren't as powerful, [...] with a good handful of their songs no match for Anniemal's weaker moments."[28] Rolling Stone's Will Hermes commented that the album "refines [Annie's] Euro-disco with more flavors and fewer hooks. Still, the music remains rapturous and cheeky."[34] Craig Carson of PopMatters expressed that the album "exudes polish, depth, and the sense that Annie is moving confidently forward as a pop artist of the first order", concluding, "All tracks considered, Annie makes a significant step forward with Don't Stop."[38] Ailbhe Malone of NME noted, "Though production is split three ways between Xenomania, Paul Epworth and Timo Kaukolampi, the record is all Annie's own."[32] Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine opined that while Xenomania's contributions are "largely hit or miss", "the album's true highlights, not surprisingly, belong to Timo Kaukolampi and Richard X, the pair responsible for the bulk of Annie's debut".[35] Matthew Perpetua of Pitchfork felt that "[n]ot every song on Don't Stop or its bonus All Night EP is a classic, but Annie's good taste has yielded another fine crop of pop tunes."[33]

Notes

• ^{^[a]} signifies a remixer

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Don't Stop.[42]

Musicians

Technical

Artwork

• Nina Merikallio – front cover, photography
• Annie – front cover, design
• Blank Blank – front cover, design
• Aki Pekka-Sinikoski – photography
• Petri Henriksson – photography