Alt-Pop Darling Anna Shoemaker Buries Her Past in “I Think I”
Alt-pop darling Anna Shoemaker buries her past and releases control of past situations in “I Think I” which is the second single off her upcoming EP, Hey Anna. The process was nothing short of a cathartic release of emotions for Shoemaker as she navigates releasing insecurities and does not allow them to exist or overpower her confidence. Shoemaker refuses to bottle up and swallow her emotions as she invites listeners into her world of romance, healing and growing pains.
Shoemaker’s self-aware and confessional lyrics celebrate the feelings of ugliness and beauty, as the artist was never one to shy away from her emotions, instead she leans into them.
“It's this idea of completely letting go of your insecurities by not allowing them to exist,” Shoemaker says. “The director and I wanted one strong image of something I could either dig up or bury.”
Imagery plays a crucial role in Shoemaker’s storytelling process. In the “I Think I” music video, she is seen in a vintage white dress wearing gleaming angel wings while recklessly driving on a field and finding a spot to bury her insecurities. At first thought, angel wings represent purity and innocence, but Shoemaker explored the complex depth of being a woman in the music industry and being held to higher standards than her male counterparts and connects it to her previous single “Holly.”
“The angel wings made so much sense to feature,” Shoemaker says. “I'm so scared of talking about being a woman in music, there's so much that you have to shove down and so much and have to grin and push aside certain comments. You have to swallow it and not say anything. I think the wings for me represented taking more control and burying my past and letting everything be okay.”
“I Think I” was the first song Shoemaker wrote after releasing her first body of work Everything is Fine (I’m Only on Fire) that seeks self-acceptance and knowing that in your bones, everything will work out in your best favor – especially when you’re spiraling. “I Think I” acts as a love letter with a promise to Shoemaker about doing her best and holding herself to high standards, despite the turmoil around her.
When something seems impossible to talk about, whether it’s traumatic, embarrassing or light-hearted, Shoemaker relies on music to mend wounds and turns painful experiences into knowledge and power.
[UNPUBLISHED]: It's so exciting to have you back talking to Unpublished Magazine. Last time we talked you released your single “I'm Your Guy” and you went on tour and had such a creative growth in your work. Say if someone hasn't heard of your music, which song would you show them to introduce you to your discography and why does that track stand out to you the most?
[ANNA]: I'm gonna say the latest one because “I think I” or even “Holly.” It’s hard because a lot of people still message me about a lot of my older songs too which I love and it’s really cool to have people see that growth with me. Even though some of the songs don’t apply to how I feel now, which is interesting. I feel like my music is just a part of my everyday life and it’s hard to listen back to older songs sometimes. “I Think I” and “Holly” and the songs off this next EP [Hey Anna] are really where I’m at right now.
[UNPUBLISHED]: Your lyrics are extremely self-aware and reflective. How does it feel to put such intimate works out in the world?
[ANNA]: I definitely used to have a little bit of anxiety. There's always going to be that anxiety whenever you're sharing your feelings or being vulnerable, but I feel really grateful to have people who have this positive reaction to my work. The more anxiety I feel, there’s more catharsis during the creation process. By the time we are releasing it, I am numb to the situation. Sometimes I’ll write a song and look back and be like ‘oh shit, that was really intense.’ I’ll feel that intensity and it wears off by the time the song comes out.
[UNPUBLISHED]: I'm so obsessed with your recent release and I’m really excited for this new era of music for you. “I Think I” is your second release off your upcoming EP this summer. I love the high energy and the boldness you embody. What was the inspiration behind the song?
[ANNA]: “I Think I” was the first song I wrote after I put out my album. I got to the studio and I honestly didn't really want to be there that day, and I just wasn't feeling it, but I loved the people I was working with. I was excited to just do it. When I got there, the verses really just came out of me almost like word vomit. That was part of the intensity that I was putting out on the table. I couldn’t think of a chorus for the life of me, and my friend Caroline came up with the ‘I loved you for a while’ part, and it was weird because I really needed to hear that about myself because I was going through a really hard time. I was really hard on myself, but it was really something I think I needed to say to myself and to my own person and it worked really well even though it could be construed as loving someone else, I think it's really just letting go.
[UNPUBLISHED]: “I Think I” has an accompanying music video and I fell in love with the natural elements and the angel wings. It’s so captivating. What was the inspiration behind the video?
[ANNA]: It's this idea of completely letting go of your insecurities by not allowing them to exist. The director and I wanted one strong image of something I could either dig up or bury. The angel wings made so much sense to feature. I'm so scared of talking about being a woman in music, there's so much that you have to shove down and so much and have to grin and push aside certain comments. You have to swallow it and not say anything. I think the wings for me represented taking more control and burying my past and letting everything be okay. We wanted to connect it with “Holly” too. We shot them both on the same day, and I really wanted to be out in nature. I wanted to get out of the city like my album, all of the visuals were very in city settings and I wanted to focus on my emotions and natural elements.
[UNPUBLISHED]: I love the influence vintage fashion has beyond your visuals and is expressed in your personal style.
[ANNA]: Thank you, my family and I always go to Pittsburgh every summer and they have beautiful antique stores and I found the dress that I wore in “I Think I” in one of those stores. The woman who works there said it was hers and that her stepmother had worn that dress on her honeymoon at Atlantic City. I love thrifting and anything vintage, but just to have the story behind the dress was really significant to me, so I wanted to wear that dress for all of the visuals for the whole EP.
[UNPUBLISHED]: Vintage clothes play a huge role in the way you present yourself as an artist, but also fuels as a tool of self-expression. I love the way that with vintage, you give it a new energy and life.
[ANNA]: I love the idea that vintage has such a beautiful sentiment. It’s this idea of something that someone has either outgrown or doesn’t want anymore, maybe they have something associated with it. These clothes have new lives and it’s really cool to think about the journey that clothes have and where they go and whose hands they land in. The best part of my day is figuring out what I'm going to wear and it can really shift your energy.
[UNPUBLISHED]: Your upcoming EP Hey Anna is about to be released soon. What can listeners expect from this new era of music?
[ANNA]: I've been experimenting with sounds and I've worked really closely with the producer and we honed in on the sound to be more concise. It is more sonically concise than my album, which is interesting because I’ve learned so much about how to tell a story with sound and not just the lyrics. I feel like my album – which I think was really fun to do – was more telling a story and having the sound be kind of disjointed. I think that was part of the story, but with Hey Anna, I hope listeners can take away that it’s okay to be vulnerable. This EP feels really refreshing. I was in the studio with my producer Constantine and we were playing guitar and he just goes ‘Hey Anna’ as he was talking to me. I knew from that moment that was the EP title and a song I needed to write. After we wrote the song, later that day I went to lunch with my younger cousin and she reminded me so much of me. I feel like we’re really similar and she was just talking about her life as a teenager. She’s 17. It is like a letter to that, that song specifically is a letter to my younger self and her.
[UNPUBLISHED]: What is your favorite song off the EP and why do you gravitate towards that song? Is there a specific lyric or message that stands out to you?
[ANNA]: “Hey Anna” has a special place in my heart. The lyric that I really like is, “If I hold my breath, I'd end up dead / So I let you let me down instead.”
[UNPUBLISHED]: Is there a story or experience in Hey Anna that you feel perfectly encapsulates your creative growth and maturity.
[ANNA]: There's a song called “666” and it’s about the music industry and how I feel about being a woman in music. I've been doing this for a while now, so I feel like I'm able to talk about it in a way that's not so pretty and touch on the highs and lows and how they really take a toll on your mental health. I was in a really educated place to say something, whereas a lot of songs before, I feel like maybe I’ve said things out of anger or I reacted out of anger or impulsivity. I think a lot of songs on the EP are more patient and reflective rather than reactive – that was my goal.
[UNPUBLISHED]: Last time we talked, you said that you want to meet as many people as possible and that you love connecting to people and it feels like a safe space for you and that allows you to relax with your emotions during live performances. You recently announced headline shows this summer in Chicago in New York. What is your favorite song to play live and why?
[ANNA]: “666” for sure because it's just badass.
[UNPUBLISHED]: Do you have any fun or memorable tour stories that you want to share?
[ANNA]: There's so many with my drummer Derek. He's always doing something ridiculous and being insane. I think my biggest takeaway from the tour was the thrifting and all the different vintage stores in every town and literally making everyone stop at every single store and finding the best stuff.
[UNPUBLISHED]: How are you feeling in this current era of your career and what does the upcoming year look like for you that you'd like to share with Unpublished?
[ANNA]: I feel really good. I feel really excited about my EP and the other music that I'm making. I'm always excited to play live and hopefully there will be another tour after these shows this summer and more music and more to share.
[UNPUBLISHED]: Is there anything that I didn't ask that you'd like to add to the interview?
[ANNA]: I should also mention that I’ve been working on a lot of upcycled pieces for this EP cycle. I’m taking on a DIY approach and have been spray painting on vintage pieces and tanks. I always wear these big ass black boots when I perform and I’m thinking of designing those and stenciling on bags. I'm really excited about that and bringing it into the fashion realm as always.
