Based between Nashville and New York, songwriter Annie DiRusso has a knack for confident and emotionally driven songs that balance quiet intimacy and cathartic choruses. Released in 2018, single ‘Jonathan’ was the first example of this, a heartbroken track both tender and lush that grew across its run-time, fired by its own energy into a moody climax.
‘Don’t Swerve’ followed similar themes but injected a playful edge, giving DiRusso the space to fully show off her vocal range before the bombastic guitars kick in. A mischievous, self-aware tone is present, but one that accentuates the emotion rather than undermines it, lending a relatable, human face to the age old themes of unrequited love.
New single ‘Dead Dogs’ is the latest development of Annie DiRusso’s sound. Born of the recent death of her dog, Bella, the song centres on the aftermath of loss, how we find ourselves unable or unwilling to let go of what is no longer present, and how we feel guilty or crazy for such stubbornness. “I feel insane,” DiRusso sings, “talking at the sky, trying to send love to my dog that died. / Don’t know what I think or a reason why Bella’d be up there, just chilling with the big guy.”
The track also confronts the steady collapse of our world, finding connections between feeling ashamed of our own grief and the collective refusal to confront the wider loss occurring daily all over the planet. Though too personal and well-crafted to speak this head on, ‘Dead Dogs’ gets at the trauma at the heart of what this society expects of us, how we must keep calm and carry on despite the earth-shattering changes, both figurative and literal, that are happening all around.
Dead dogs don’t talk to me
and neither does God
But I need some answers please
the world is going wrong
Photos and album artwork by Loretta Violante