Sizzy Rocket, otherwise known as Sabrina Bernstein, found the name “Anarchy” while listening to a punk radio station with her photographer/muse/friend Alex Inez. When the Sex Pistols hit the airwaves with their punk classic “Anarchy in the UK,” a lightbulb went off between Bernstein and Inez. Anarchy, a state of chaos and lawlessness, was the perfect encapsulation of Bernstein’s unapologetic pop record.
While the record is sonically alt pop leaning, it physically oozes an undeniable punk essence. Punk isn’t a genre, it’s an attitude. Bernstein explains as she cites Travis Scott as an influence, “I see no difference between him and a punk rock star, like Iggy Pop. I think the spirit of rage and rebellion and that raw energy – I’m so electrified by that and I think Travis just does such an amazing job of embodying and communicating that. Astroworld has been on repeat since it came out. I think it’s just such an artful approach to music and sound today and I really wanted to have that same kind of artful approach to punk and pop and the realm of music that I’m in.”
Anarchy was created in a series of rented lofts in California, where Bernstein lived and immersed herself in the creation of the record full-time. She and producers Benny Reiner and Dave Weingarten spent days in a row cranking out Anarchy and passing joints around (usually several at once). The result? A record that ranges from dreamy to feverish and lovestruck to angry.
“That Bitch” bursts down the doors of the album, setting the tone for a journey through the record’s perfectly provocative track list. Bernstein switches gears on “Spill My Guts,” a powerful combination of a soft, whispering vocal and a darkness and intensity behind the production. The song fades into an outro that is titillating and uncomfortable, but also wild and invigorating.
Bernstein comments on her recent feelings toward social media and internet culture on “Crazy Bitch.” “Why do I have to be this idealized version of myself on the internet? I feel like I’m constantly seconds away from losing my shit and just becoming this wild woman, like deleting everything or shaving my head on Instagram live,” says Bernstein. “I could just fucking snap.” She knows that if she were to snap, she would be egged on and turned into a meme. We’re dehumanizing ourselves, and “Crazy Bitch” is calling that out.
The spirit of punk isn’t all sex, drugs, and rock and roll. Sometimes, it’s about leaving those things behind and abandoning the status quo to better yourself. “Cocaine by the Pool” looks like a party song at first glance, but instead it’s a proclamation of love and a testament to Bernstein’s own self-growth. “I used to be a huge party girl, like Lindsay Lohan lebel with the drugs when I was young and in New York and reckless,” she admits. The song details what it’s like to arrive at a party with someone you love, where everyone around you is partying their way into an abyss and not even paying attention to each other. “And then you look at the person that you love and you’re in your own little happy world with that person in the middle of a party that’s dark, where everyone is doing drugs. I think in a way it’s like coming full circle. It’s about me sort of learning how to prioritize that instead of actually doing cocaine at a party which leads to nowhere 100% of the time. And just wanting to fall in love and grow up a little bit,” she explains.
“Straight To Mars” is what Bernstein calls her “queer stoner anthem.” With the help of queer rapper Wes Period, she takes the listener straight to Mars and demasculinzes the stoner anthem. It’s fun, flirty, beachy, and of course, a lot of weed was smoked in the studio. “Smells Like Sex” was another track fueled by weed in the studio. “I feel like I went into another dimension, pulled the song out of that dimension, and then came back into real life and the song was done,” recalls Bernstein.
The record ends with trapped-out, rock and roll anthem “Queen of the World” an intimate yet powerful snapshot of the larger-than-life feeling of having sex in the back of a Cadillac (ideally, a cream-colored 1960s Cadillac with red seats). “A moment like that is really small and intimate and personal and I sort of wanted to amplify that moment and shine a light on the importance of those intimate smaller moments that we might overlook or never tell anybody about.”
Bernstein is already working on her next era of music, but also plans to release voice memos from the making of Anarchy in the near future. We can also expect a new music video later this month.
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