Written by Patrick Moran
Ainjo’s rolling and soulful “Pity Party” combines the sultry lilt of classic R&B with the hushed intimacy of a pop singer-songwriter’s confessional.
Unlike those antecedents, Ainjo’s husky, purring vocal does not lament a faithless romance. Rather, she confronts an existential tailspin. Forced to leave a decade-long Navy career and wondering if music could sustain her, Ainjo penned “Pity Party” at a crossroads.
As bouncing bass dissolves into a lush dreamscape of cascading keyboards and plangent guitars, Ainjo sings of drinking and smoking too much amid soul-crushing depression. She then confronts and navigates in a playful gospel-influenced chorus:
“Chaos is a hobby/Mama said she don’t wanna join my pity party/I’m looking out for hope but my/Thoughts are engineered to keep me safe in fear
Ainjo’s torch song intensity, which smolders under the song’s gauzy surface, assures us she will triumph over self-pity, no matter how seductive it seems.
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