With her signature synth beats, whimsical melodies and her penchant for relatable and confessional lyrics, Anna Of The North has become one of the most enigmatic, and universally treasured pop artists out there. Her debut album ‘Lovers’ – released back in 2017 – continues to take on an unexpected life of its own: accumulating over 200 million streams, it’s songs of heartache, guilt and the tentative joys of moving on have united a rich global audience in their intimate shared experiences. Few modern artists, too, could appear as at home working with Tyler, the Creator (Anna lent her vocals to Flower Boy) and Rejjie Snow as they are duetting with HONNE, playing with Anderson Paak, landing a viral remix by The Chainsmokers or, most recently, featuring on a Snakehips record. ‘Lovers’ word-of-mouth success culminated with the title track taking off via NETFLIX seminal smash hit ‘All The Boys I Used To Love’ and as a result, is still streamed over 100,000 times a day (nearly a year after the film’s release). All these roads lead to ‘Dream Girl’ – the brand new, enthralling second chapter from Anna Of The North which began its life earlier this year with the release of first track ‘Leaning On Myself’ and the subsequent follow-ups ‘Used To Be’ and ‘Thank Me Later’ (all of which are included in the album). These first introductions to Anna 2.0 boldly set the tone for what is to come – taking all she learnt from ‘Lovers’ and the years since and turning it into a 2019 fearlessness that runs consistently throughout the new album. Across the 13-track record, it’s difficult not to fall totally in love with Anna’s incredibly infectious open-minded approach to life. The difference this time round is that now it really is just Anna Of The North – fleet-footed, over-spilling with the confidence of creativity and in full control of the decision-making processes, with her nerves steadied and ready to deliver her gallant solo address. As a result of her sole-commanding influence, the over-riding subject matter of ‘Dream Girl’ is exactly that – expertly exploring what it means to be a woman in the present day, how your romantic relationships don’t have to define who you are and ultimately, that being content standing on your own two feet is the most important thing.