Avery Anna - let go letters

As a follow-up to her 2024 debut Breakup Over Breakfast, Avery Anna rides the waves of her recent, chart-climbing Sam Barber collaboration ‘Indigo’ with the daring, sophomore concept album let go letters. With a refreshingly inspired touch, Anna brings an experiential fan letter writing campaign to life by transforming real-life stories of alcoholism, body dysmorphia and self esteem struggles into a deeply considered collection of songs.

An approach of this magnitude at surface level might appear exploitative, yet Anna creates with such intrepid commitment that her sincere intentions are hard to deny. It’s evident that in acting as a steadfast vehicle for these stories, she desires only that those that have shared feel seen, heard and never alone.

Breakup Over Breakfast sonically explored an expansive array of modern and traditional country sounds that often distracted from instead of adding to Anna’s resonant vocal register. Though let go letters veers far from its predecessor’s approach, digging into stripped back, rock-leaning arrangements that better compliment her malleable voice.

The slow, contemplative piano start of ‘Mr. Predictable’ churns into a soaring rage of confidence with Anna’s voice expelling any remaining pangs of disappointing love. “I wish I had the words to say / but I’m still working through the pain,” she sings with screaming-into-the-wind abandon on alternative rager ‘GRAVE.’ The intricacies of her full-bodied performance, giving all of her voice to the voiceless, only surmounts the tragic circumstances dispelled. Yet on album standouts ‘cheerios’ and ‘danny don’t,’ Anna’s meticulous songwriting is front and center as she shapes unshakeable imagery of substance misuse that’s vividly relatable.

let go letters is certainly not a bop-filled summer album overflowing with feel-good anthems but instead acts as something more critically meaningful.

Not since Mary Gauthier’s groundbreaking 2018 masterpiece Rifles & Rosary Beads has an artist so painstakingly dedicated themselves in telling others stories. Anna’s willingness to let go of any artistic ego in service of the songs is not only an impactful way to give back to these individuals but strategically marks the next phase of her career.

While Breakup Over Breakfast certainly exemplified her talents, let go letters uses them in such a cohesive, uniform way that it marks a triumphant second chapter. By avoiding the sophomoric tendency to conform to trends and hammer home a radio hit, Anna presents a bold artistic statement that offers an unfiltered introduction to her truest self.

8/10

Avery Anna’s 2025 project, let go letters, is available everywhere May 16 via Warner Music Nashville.

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