Eleanor Buckland Releases Debut Single 'Don't Look Down' July 23

Eleanor Buckland has been one-third of Lula Wiles, the Boston-based folk-rock trio that has become an acoustic music scene favorite with their three critically hailed albums. For much of this time, however, Buckland was also working on another musical project - her own album. You Don't Have To Know (due October 29 on Soundly Music) spotlights a different side of Buckland's musical interests as it sets her deeply personal songs against inventive indie rock arrangements.

Today, she premieres the first single "Don't Look Down" on BTR Today: "...a catchy indie number that somehow perfectly juxtaposes feelings of desperation and gloom with optimism and hopefulness. With energetic indie beats paired with Buckland's soothing delicate vocals, 'Don't Look Down' creates a balance between dark and light energies that makes you feel cleansed within."

"Don't Look Down" was written on Mayne Island in British Columbia while on a New Year's trip. "On the morning of January 1st, 2015, I ran into the cold waters of Campbell Bay, plunging down to submerge myself, metaphorically cleansing myself of the previous year. It felt like an awakening, and a hopeful moment of freedom," explains Eleanor. "This is the song that followed that plunge. It was also the first track we recorded in the studio and we built the rest of the album upon this musical foundation. I think of "Don't Look Down" as both a question and the thesis statement for the record."

A step away from the traditional folk of her aforementioned group, Eleanor takes a deep dive into the indie rock/pop world. "As I wrote the songs that make up You Don't Have To Know, I didn't know what they would become and I didn't realize I was creating my debut record," recalls Eleanor. "The process was total freedom; I allowed myself to be creative and exploratory. Having been in bands for my entire musical life, I was discovering my singular voice as an artist in a way I never had before and it was thrilling."

Although she thought about recording the tunes, the idea arose from a suggestion by Adam Iredale-Gray, a friend of Buckland's (and her Lula Wiles bandmates Mali Obomsawin and Isa Burke) at Berklee College of Music and producer of the trio's self-titled first album. While recording that album, Buckland and Iredale-Gray noticed, as she explains it, "a magical spark of synchronicity in our creative processes."

Iredale-Gray also assembled a stellar group of players to back Buckland at the three separate Toronto recording sessions that took place in 2017-18. Featuring keyboardist Màiri Chaimbeul, guitarist Sam Gleason and a Toronto-based rhythm section (drummer Justin Ruppel and bassist Charles James), this supporting quartet brought a cohesiveness to the album's sound. In particular, Chaimbeul delivered major contributions, with her interplay with Iredale-Gray's guitar work on "Static" and "How Fast, How Far" being notable examples.

On You Don't Have To Know, Buckland takes listeners on an emotional journey as her songs address love complicated and love lost, explore struggles with depression and insecurity, and grapple with feelings of uncertainty and helplessness. Or as Buckland succinctly describes the album: "It's about me trying to figure out who I am and who I was at that time."

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