Pretty Sick - Anarchy

NYC bassist, vocalist, and songwriter Pretty Sick (AKA Sabrina Fuentes) has just announced that her long-awaited sophomore album Anarchy is due out on September 11th via Dirty Hit. The news arrives alongside the project’s second single, “home2hide”, which centers around a pounding bassline, euphoric, trance-infused synths, and raw songwriting: “The sun comes up on the city that I live in/Doesn’t matter where I am I change with rhythm/It must’ve been hard being burdened by wisdom/Hard to have hope when you know there’s no decision.” Shot in the French countryside, the accompanying music video reinforces the visual aesthetic Fuentes has established across past projects, blending VHS footage with run-and-gun filmmaking to create a uniquely diaristic feel.

Recorded primarily with producer Oscar Scheller (Lily Allen, PinkPantheress) in Los Angeles, Anarchy is a maximal, rock-electronic hybrid that draws from indie pop, shoegaze, and rap. Led by 2025 single “Star”, the album’s title reflects Fuentes’ iconoclastic refusal to be boxed in as an artist. That same defiance fuels her production choices, leaning on crystalline synths, heavy beats, and no shortage of distortion, which she uses as both a musical and emotional tool — resulting in a collection of songs that bridge electronic experimentation with raw feeling. But even as Fuentes ascends, her loyalty remains to the underground scenes that shaped her: “Not caring to follow rules,” she says, “or meet expectations for any reason other than doing things for yourself — that’s the through line.”

Founded by musician Sabrina Fuentes alongside friends Ella Moore on guitar and Eva Kaufman on drums, Pretty Sick burst out of New York City’s underground with a clearly defined sound, drawn from 1990s grunge but forged in the crucible of the city’s DIY scene. The band quickly built a following, playing countless shows across the city at now-legendary spaces like Shea Stadium and Silent Barn and releasing their self-titled debut, the Pretty Sick EP, in 2016. Their sharp hooks and dense, distorted textures echoed ‘90s icons like Hole and The Smashing Pumpkins, while staying grounded in the present-day immediacy of the city’s interwoven skate, rock, and jazz scenes. After Moore and Kaufman left for college, Fuentes moved to London in 2018 to study music at Goldsmiths University. She assembled a new lineup, which included drummer Austin Williamson of Onyx Collective and guitarist Wade Oates, formerly of The Virgins. In 2020, Pretty Sick signed to Dirty Hit — home to The 1975 and beabadoobee — and released the Deep Divine EP, which included anthems like “Superstar”, while 2021 follow-up Come Down featured “Dumb”. The pandemic halted gigs, so Fuentes holed up in the studio for her raucous, raw, Paul Kolderie (Pixies, Radiohead)-produced 2022 debut, Makes Me Sick Make Me Smile. She toured internationally afterward, opening for beabadoobee later that year and Yves Tumor in 2023, playing shows across Europe, Japan, and the United States. Along the way, she’s modeled for elite fashion brands like Calvin Klein, Anonymous Club, and Marc Jacobs while garnering praise from the likes of The New York Times, Pitchfork, The FACE — and even Iggy Pop. Never one to sit still creatively, Fuentes pivoted with the Streetwise EP in 2024, six songs of propulsive, electronic club-pop made with Swedish producer Woesum (Yung Lean, Bladee). Her long-awaited sophomore album Anarchy is due out on September 11th via Dirty Hit.