Nell Smith Debut Album ‘Anxious’ Will Receive Posthumous Release

Last year, Nell Smith was chipping away at her debut studio album set for release in 2025 via Bella Union, the label helmed by the Cocteau Twins’ Simon Raymonde. But in October, the young musician died at the age of 17 before any of the record could be shared with the public. Now, Bella Union has revealed plans to release the album, titled Anxious, posthumously on April 11.

“It is still very painful when I realize Nell is gone,” the Flaming Lips’ Wayne Coyne shared in a statement. “I keep thinking I’ll check my text messages from her. I’m sure she has a new drawing or new piece of a song or a new photo of her cat… and then I remember she is gone.”

In 2022, Smith joined the Flaming Lips to cover Nick Cave and the Bad Seed’s “The Weeping Song” when she was only 14 years old. Coyne was particularly drawn to the journey he envisioned the young musician taking in the future. “It was a great way to connect with her and help harness her cool attitude to making music,” he said at the time.

He still hears that ambition and excitement in her voice, though the journey was ultimately cut short. Bella Union previewed the forthcoming album with its lead single and title track “Anxious,” which wallows in teenage angst and missed opportunities with an edge of optimism. “I’m okay today, I think I’ve made a turn,” she sings. “I want to make a song like David Byrne. There’s nothing but the flowers in the yard/So this might be the place for me to start.”

“Now when I’m listening to her singing these songs there is a brief fantastical joy,” Coyne shared. “Her voice hits the ear, the ear tells brain this is the sound of love, the brain lets the mind fly through the billions of connections it has with Nell’s life… but as it flies it also flies to her death… there is something holy that happens now.”

Smith wrote “Anxious” with Shred Kelly and Penelope Isles, who contributed to a number of tracks that will appear on Anxious. Some were recorded in 2022, with others started as far back as when the musician was 12 years old. The 10-track records includes songs titled “The Worst Best Drug,” “Boy in a Bubble,” “Billions of People,” and “I Know Nothing.”

Following Smith’s death, her family launched the Nell Smith Music Fund, a memorial fund supporting merging musicians. The fund aims to raise $100,000 and award $10,000 every year for the next decade to “empower young musicians who share Nell’s dedication to pursuing a music career,” according to the fund website. “Our mission is to ensure that Nell’s memory inspires others to chase their passion for music with the same joy and determination she embodied.”