Los Angeles artist Chandler Leighton is back with a visceral new single in the form of “A Letter To Everyone Who’s Hurt Me.” It’s the second track that they’ve shared since the release of their debut EP from last year, which arrived as a heart-wrecking collection of anthems on A Letter To My Vices.
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Of course, it’s no coincidence that Leighton’s latest single alludes in no small part to the title of that group of songs. Which explored through eviscerating means some dark moments and hard truths — synced as they are to Leighton’s brash pop sonics.
“A Letter To Everyone Who’s Hurt Me” finds Leighton looking past her broken relationships to find the source of her trauma. “I thought it was normal to watch your parents fight,” she confesses at the song’s opening. From there she traces the threads of her parent’s divorce and its effect on her into an open letter to everyone she’s “loved who’s let me down.” Against the song’s pained piano melody, Leighton’s heart-wrenching words fall heavy and wearied.
“‘Cause growth and pain always feel the same,” she sings as the song transforms from a dire ballad into this exultant anthem. And throughout Leighton offers up searing questions of who’s responsible for the person she is today (“What do I owe you for who I became? / Should I say thank you or curse your name?”). As the whole melody shudders Leighton’s cries cut like shards of light through the grim atmosphere — “Still don’t know the difference, I hope that can change,” she pleas — before it all fades out under the melancholic groan of cello strings.
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Words by Steven Ward
Listen to “A Letter To Everyone Who’s Hurt Me” the new single from Chandler Leighton below!
