Video Premiere: Annie Dressner “I’ve Always Been Like This”

We are delighted to premiere the latest single from Annie Dressner, who moved from New York City to the UK eleven years ago.  Now, three full albums and an EP later, Dressner delivers an anthem for the lonely, for the misunderstood and for those who feel out of place.  Her words are direct and disarming: “I’ve always been like this, I’m always alone // Even when I’m surrounded by a crowd // I don’t understand things the way I feel I should // I always feel stupid and misunderstood.”  Dressner explains: “Since I was a kid I felt as if I didn’t belong – an outsider looking in ‘except for the times few and far between when somebody knows the places I’ve been.’  The rare times someone really truly sees me…and in those moments, rare as they might be, sadness and loneliness are taken away. I ask, ‘Am I alone in thinking I’m alone in feeling like this?’ I hope others will feel less alone listening to this song.”  Such personal songwriting invites and draws in the listener.

A co-write with Dressner’s friend Matthew Caws, this is a song that is gorgeous both thematically and sonically.  Dressner’s lilting, almost conversational voice sways and rises and falls in beautiful vocal melody, drifting over a light, tuneful strum and mellow keys.  ‘I’ve Always Been Like This’ has a real warmth to the sound, which creates an absorbing intimacy to match it’s lyrical, emotional depth.  Dressner shot and edited the accompanying video herself and the muted colour filters reinforce the song’s hazy, dreamy feel.

Dressner’s most recent release was the excellent ’48 Hours’, a spontaneous writing project released in partnership with David Ford.  Early in 2022, Ford and Dressner performed on the same set and struck up a friendship that would ultimately lead to this fine collaboration.  Named for the two-day burst of creative energy in which much of the material was written, the collection highlights the quality of the pair’s voices and the way their vocals complement one another is sublime.  While you wait for more solo music from Annie Dressner, this EP is well-worth checking out.  She is getting ready to record her fourth album and, on the strength of this single, it promises to be another set of personal, intimate reflections delivered in Dressner’s tuneful, conversational style.  In the meantime, Dressner is partway through a series of UK shows; if you can, catch her on tour this autumn – dates below.  Enjoy.