This article was originally published on Consequence
At just 23, Annie DiRusso had already positioned herself to succeed with a viral hit, opening slot for beabadoobee, and an appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. When it came time to start making new music again, however, there was a sense of detachment from realizing that the music she was living and breathing came from her younger self. Thankfully, the artist overcame those barriers on the way to recording her debut album, Super Pedestrian.
“I totally lost touch with my taste in a lot of ways,” DiRusso remembers, and this is precisely what prompted her to set aside a month to get back in touch with the simple pleasures of life in the summer of 2023. After wrapping up her tour and moving into a new apartment in Nashville, she once again opened herself up to everyday indulgences like dating, binge-watching Sex and the City, and rock climbing. During what she now calls “Party July,” she found herself enjoying the process of songwriting as it came to her far more naturally than ever before.
“Writing has never come super easily for me,” DiRusso says. “I was just trying to follow ideas as they came and not limit myself. I just kind of let things live at the same time. It was like swimming in the world of all of these different songs at once.”
Ultimately, she ended up with the handful of songs that make up her debut LP. Incalculable from the very start, it's best to form an opinion about an album like this only after listening to all 11 cuts given its broad circumference.
“A lot of the album is about this push and pull of acceptance and resistance,” she explains. “It’s me giving in to things or wanting to give in to things. It’s about feeling the fear but pushing myself towards it anyway.
“I feel like a much more balanced, fully formed version of myself. I’m so excited to just show people where I’m at and how I’m feeling. I want this album to show people it’s okay to have fun.”
Super Pedestrian is now available to stream below, followed by Annie DiRusso’s Track by Track breakdown.
“Ovid”:
A few years ago on tour, we were driving through rural Colorado and had to stop to pee. That part of the West is notorious for not having many rest stops or gas stations to stop at when traveling through. We really had to go, though, and after a while we came across a smallllllll town called Ovid and we took the exit only to find there was no gas station. One of the only buildings in the town was a mechanic shop and we went in to use their bathroom only to be faced with a movie-like portrait of a bunch of men in Western wear standing in a big circle inside a mostly empty mechanic garage… each of the men had a scary dog at their feet. It was like 2:00 p.m. on a Tuesday and they were all just standing there smoking and talking. That interaction inspired the first verse and chorus of “Ovid.” “Ovid” introduces a push and pull felt throughout the album — the struggle I have with surrendering to the present.
“Back in Town”:
This song was a cooker. It took a long time to piece together. I probably wrote 20 verses; I couldn’t stop writing it. As I wrote each verse, I think I admitted a lot to myself about the reality of the situation I was in and granted myself at least a momentary clarity on my feelings. It’s a tale as old as time really — when you’re back… you’re back. I love pop music and it’s thrilling to me to have such a pop song. My yearning pop song <3.
“Leo”:
This song is for my brother, who rocks… I feel really lucky to have grown up with such a great older brother. We don’t talk all the time, but we are close. Even so, neither of us has ever been very good at expressing our love for each other hahahaa. The song was me wishing I could say more, but I can’t. It’s kinda funny to me that I can put out some of these crazy details about myself in songs, but when I want to tell someone who I love how I feel, it’s really hard for me to express.
“Hungry”:
This song is me getting a few years’ perspective on an abusive relationship and no longer feeling any compassion or sadness towards it — only anger. I spent the week I was writing this song walking around with my fists clenched hahah. The chorus is inspired by something my mom said to me when I was really going through it a few years ago, and I wondered if I had done something to make myself more vulnerable to poor treatment. She told me, “Nothing makes someone more likely to be a victim other than their proximity to a predator — if you are in a cave with a hungry bear, you’re going to get eaten.” It took me a long time to internalize that message, and I feel I was finally able to while writing this song. I let something go when I wrote this and I can’t wait to play it live.
“Legs”:
“Legs” was one of the first songs I wrote for the record; I think it was the first one I finished. I wrote this song during Party July with my friends Caroline Culver and Hannah Cole. We were just hanging out one afternoon and started this song — we were joking around when we came up with the chorus, until we finally landed on “I am loosening my grip, I don’t give a shit if we fuck or we date/ I’m not making myself sick, I’ll give what I get — you can leave, you can stay.” We were so pumped up, we went and got dinner and then came home and finished the song and a couple bottles of wine. I meant it when I wrote it and finding that chill feeling became more of a manifestation over time.
“I Am the Deer”:
This is another Party July track. I had the second verse and chorus when I brought it to my friend Josef Kuhn, and we ended up making it sound as disgusting as I dreamed <3 I didn’t finish the song until I was in the studio 8 months later, but I always knew it would be on the record. It’s about me sabotaging myself again and again even while knowing that I’m doing it.
“Wearing Pants Again” (feat. Ruston Kelly):
I wrote “Wearing Pants Again” with my good friend and favorite songwriter Ruston Kelly. Even though we have been good friends since touring together, I was still nervous the morning of the write because I look up to him so much as an artist and writer. It ended up being the easiest co-write of my life. We just shared with each other what was in our journals and organized it into song. This song is about trying to pull yourself out of a dark spot, yet you’re still catching your foot on something that’s trying to keep you there.
“Derek Jeter”:
It’s a nod to my dad, whose main loves are Italian food, Frank Sinatra, and the Yankees: he’s the voice you hear on the song talking about Jeter. We made this track as a palate cleanser when we got stuck on another song. We were laughing the whole time, just letting ourselves experiment and feel things — I wanted it on the album because it reflects how much fun we had making this record.
“Good Ass Movie”:
This is my bitchy song on the record — I wrote it about the guy with all these opinions, who sits there and smokes a cigarette and tells you how to make your art, but isn’t actually making any of his own.
“Wet”:
You know when someone is all of a sudden everywhere? “Wet” is like that. It’s like playing the game where the floor is lava, but the person is lava and you’re scared to give in. “Wet” is inevitable. “Wet: is surrender. “Wet” is hot.
“It’s Good to Be Hot in the Summer”:
It’s good to let yourself be where you are. It’s better to face the pain than trying to numb it. I’m not so good at that, but I want to be better. I want to let myself feel things and experience life fully. A lot of the album is about this push and pull of acceptance and resistance. This song is the final reminder to surrender — it’s the space I tried to live in while writing this record.
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