Annie DiRusso Grabs The Wheel In Her Debut Album ‘Super Pedestrian’
“Always looking for something to change my life / Never want to hear nothing to change my mind” Annie DiRusso chants in her track “Ovid” with full craving over hard-hitting drum crashes and crispy electric licks. After heavy anticipation for new music, the Nashville-based singer-songwriter came in razor sharp with her debut album ‘Super Pedestrian’––an extension of the push and pull she’s been experiencing this past year. Its opening track is reminiscent of Remi Wolf’s spontaneous spirit and Angel Olsen’s cathartic chord arrangements, with the infusion of DiRusso’s own alt-rock DNA. She plays tug of war with her personal desires and submitting to the present, slowly learning how to navigate such prickling tension. “It’s me giving in to things or wanting to give in to things,” she says about the new record. “It’s about feeling the fear but pushing myself towards it anyway.” The 11-track project picks DiRusso’s brain to reveal where she’s been, what she’s wrestled with, and how she ultimately doesn’t give a damn anymore.
Photo via Annie DiRusso.
Caught in the viral nature of TikTok, DiRusso’s snippets of her songs “Nine Months” and “Coming Soon” quickly gained traction back in 2020, skyrocketing the singer’s streams. After the COVID lockdown, DiRusso soon opened for Samia in 2021, and has since toured with artists like Djo and Peach Pit. With the release of her album, DiRusso brought on new friend Caleb Wright as a producer, while also bringing along some old ones like Samia, Eden Joel, and Ruston Kelly to contribute writing and backing vocals.
Swimming in a pool of desire, DiRusso finds herself bending backwards for someone in the pop-leaning tune “Back In Town.” “Yeah, I know / I should know by now” she admits only seconds into the song, as if gaining clarity into the reality of the relationship before its start. She speaks to a universal experience of a deep, early-20s yearning over someone who isn’t equally emotionally committed, or even present, making the already addictive track all the more alluring.
The switch drastically flips in a second, and DiRusso is back behind the wheel, rocketing down the highway at horse speed in “Legs.” Her refrains of “I think you want me” grab you by the collar with unwavering confidence, as if to remind everyone who commands the room. It’s the other party that has a hold on her, and not the other way around. DiRusso bursts in like a gushing geyser with a readiness to reclaim the power: “There’s something stuck on your tongue / I think it’s my name.” “Good Ass Movie,” a song about an unfulfilling ex, falls into the same pop-punk vein. DiRusso’s point of view overrides the album, but especially in this song. “This is my bitchy song on the record––I wrote it about a guy with all these opinions… [who] tells you how to make your art, but isn’t actually making any of his own” she says in an interview with Consequence. She flips the script her former partner is trying to write, calling him out for the facade he’s painting: “Cause you think writing about sex is cheap / Well you know what I think is cheap / Saying you’re a writer and not writing anything.” There’s an extremely strong sense of self that exudes from this track, as if belonging in a 2000s coming-of-age film that ends up sticking with you for life.
“I Am The Deer” drills the theme of the album further by painting DiRusso’s back and forth with her inner self. She labels herself both the driver and the deer, habitually ramming into herself despite being aware of who’s blocking the road: “Tried closing my eyes / I’m still seeing myself in the glass.” Her garage rock grit wraps itself around the track, evoking a sense of a controlled swerving in an endless loop of rock riffs.
DiRusso sheds another layer of herself in “Wearing Pants Again,” one of the few tracks on the album that embraces a slower, stripped back tempo. “Started wearing pants again / Body is awake / But my brain is dead” she dejectedly hums over the strumming of faint strings. Its lyrical flow feels like a stream of consciousness that is spilling out what is at the forefront of DiRusso’s mind, with Kelly’s vocals creating a gentle texture and openness within the song. A desire to reach for light in a dark place is threaded throughout the track’s folds, with the final chorus signifying an arrival at the end of the tunnel: “Started wearing pants again / I think I like the way they fit.”
“It’s Good To Be Hot In The Summer” serves as DiRusso’s final reminder to allow herself to feel it all rather than putting away an emotion in a back pocket to forget about. “So don’t close your eyes / You’re a runner / But you can’t run away this time” she screams, a cathartic release as she finally chooses to bask in the freeing warmth of self-acceptance. The return to herself feels like a proud moment for both herself and her listeners––a journey that surely many will recognize within themselves.
DiRusso is a one-of-a-kind artist who masterfully brings tangibility to the intangible. She continues to break the barriers of genre’s constraints to see what feels good, and it’s safe to say she blows expectations out of the water with every release. Be sure to catch DiRusso’s set on the BACK IN TOWN Tour this year, which you can get tickets for here. You can listen to her debut album ‘Super Pedestrian’ on all of your favorite streaming platforms.
