ANNIE | My Love Is Better

Available on:
x Annie - Don't Stop (2009) album

Credits:
Written by Anne Lilia Berge Strand, Miranda Cooper, Brian Higgins, Nick Coler and Tim Powell.
Produced by Brian Higgins/Xenomania.
Mixed by Jeremy Wheatley for 365 Artists at Twenty One Studio, London. Assisted by Richard Edgeler.
Vocals: Annie.
Keyboards: Tim Powell, Brian Higgins & Nick Coler.
Programming: Tim Powell, Brian Higgins, Nick Coler, Matt Gray & Timo Kaukolampi.
Guitars: Nick Coler & Owen Parker.

Copyright Control, Warner Chappell, Xenomania.
(P) 2008 Universal Island Records Ltd. A Universal Music Company

Notes:
It was originally a duet with Girls Aloud. The band was recording "Can't Speak French" at the same time as Annie made "My Love Is Better". However, Girls Aloud's record label demanded that their vocals were removed from the song because they were due to do promotion at the same time.

Annie: "The Girls seemed to have a good time. Then their record label got involved and got heavy on me. It's silly of them, a shame, but I have no hard feelings to the Girls at all."

The song remained on the album and Annie has since recorded all the backing vocals on the song.

REVIEWS:
x Fantastic, driving beat that acts as another Aloud track that never was, especially considering this was the axed collaboration effort. It's actually a grower for me. Even though it was solid to begin with, the chorus is getting more playful by the minute each time I listen. It's a lot of sass, "You know you'll never/ Have my hips / I'm so much better / So eat this." Now, now Annie...A moment on the lips, a lifetime on the hips. Or is that her plan all along for her unnamed arch enemy? Dirty! MuuMuse

x It's a great song. It has tongue-in-cheek lyrics, brilliant 9 out of 10 verses and an okay (but not fantastic) chorus which works. Had it been Girls Aloud's comeback single I would've been dissapointed. Had it been an album track on "Chemistry" I would've loved it. It's about that good. But the quality of the song isn't the thing. It's, like many has already mentioned, the fact that Xenomania has made our electronica princess sound like any other Brian Higgins production. The surf guitars, cut-and-paste architecture and the though daring but actually just slick production - all that. She sounds like Girls Aloud, Mania, Moonbaby - all amazing pop acts - but nothing like Annie. Or at least the Annie I got to know back in 2004. popnark

x Her demure yet sassy voice is flattered by the production team's efforts on the zippy "My Love Is Better". Pitchfork

x "My Love Is Better," in particular, deserves placement on any Best of '09 playlist. With a sweet fuzz-guitar riff from Alex Kapranos of Franz Ferdinand, it's a little slice of hipster-bait heaven. Boston Phoenix

x Of the five tracks Xenomania contribute, My Love Is Better is a clear highlight. Featuring a slinky guitar riff from Alex Kapranos over those trademark synth rushes, it finds Annie turning her devilish eye on her female rivals. As the chorus gets into full swing the put-downs become more catty: "You know you'll never have my hips / I'm so much better / So eat this". musicOMH

x "My Love is Better" moves a little bit away from "indie" and moves more toward the mainstream pop sound. It has a powerful sound and the cheeky sort of lyrics that quite a few Annie songs seem to have. It could act as another "gateway song" to win some listeners who are more into mainstream pop music. And it's not a bad song at all! It isn't flat or full of empty clich�s the way a lot of mainstream pop songs are. Annie News Corner

x It's unmistakeably a Xenomania track - similar in feel to 'Long Hot Summer' or 'You Freak Me Out' - which features guitar work from Alex Kapranos. Popjustice

x I've always found the team's non-Girls Aloud songs rather anonymous, but this one perfectly captures the feisty funk of the former Pop Stars finalists. Discopop