Eleanor Buckland’s “I’m Not Saying” Examines Unhealthy Romances (premiere)

Eleanor Buckland has won the world over as part of Lula Wiles, the acclaimed Smithsonian Folkways trio. Her solo debut You Don’t Have to Know will release on 29 October. Though elements of folk songwriting stand tall amidst other influences, the LP is a marked departure from her previous work. With jangling guitars, a whirling Wurlitzer, and indelible hooks, Buckland finds herself confidently exploring realms of pop, rock, and Americana.

“I’m Not Saying” is Buckland’s third single release ahead of the new LP and is also one of its most thematically intimate. Throughout, the singer-songwriter sets a magnifying glass over past relationships, exposing their detrimental undertow. She deftly navigates its soaring chorus, brooding with honesty in her reflections on a one-sided romance.

Buckland tells PopMatters, “I had this chorus and the acoustic guitar riff rattling around for a little while, while I was reflecting on how I was giving so much of myself in my relationships, often in an unhealthy way. Adam and I decided to demo the song in its entirety, deleting bits, and adding sections, then moving them around again. It was the first time I wrote a song in this manner. And as a bonus, I got to live my early 2000s pop star dream through the production of this track!”