B-Side Guys

Anna exists somewhere between mythology and memory—Soviet brothers, fallen crowns, tiger lilies clutched in her fist like weapons or talismans. Joe Nolan’s protagonist navigates a landscape where “magazine men” live in gutters and hyenas occupy rich bedrooms, but he’s less interested in explaining her world than in convincing her to engage with it.

The track anticipates Nolan’s September album Luv in the New World by examining what hope looks like when traditional structures collapse. His approach treats Anna not as victim but as dormant force—someone whose “sunshine” could move clouds if she’d only wake up and use it. The repeated plea functions as both gentle encouragement and urgent political call, suggesting that personal awakening becomes radical act in broken systems.

Recorded live to 1-inch tape in Los Angeles with producer Tyler Chester, the song benefits from spontaneous energy that matches its message. Rather than polishing away the rough edges, Nolan preserves the crackle of immediacy that makes his call to Anna feel genuinely desperate rather than rhetorically constructed.

His use of imagery—”vow of silence in broken English,” “queen of the underground”—creates portrait of someone who’s learned to hide her power rather than wield it. The song’s genius lies in its refusal to explain why Anna should wake up, instead simply asserting that the world needs whatever she’s been withholding. Sometimes the best argument for engagement is the simple fact that disengagement hasn’t been working.

The track works because Nolan understands that revolution often begins with individuals deciding to stop sleeping through their own lives. His Anna becomes both specific person and broader symbol for anyone who’s chosen numbness over the risk of caring about a world that keeps disappointing them.