Lindsay Ell Refines Her Sound With ‘I Don’t Love You’ [Listen]
Get to a doctor if you don't feel every word of Lindsay Ell's new single "I Don't Love You."
The "Criminal" singer and 2018 Taste of Country RISER returns with her first song post-"What Happens in a Small Town" (her chart-topping duet with Brantley Gilbert) and proves she's committed to a sound she forged on The Project, her acclaimed 2017 release.
Ell's blues influences are heard in her guitar fills, but those are a nourishing afterthought on a song that's not so much a vocal showcase but an emotional showcase. "I Don't Love You" is her song, not a song she happens to be singing.
Shockingly, Ell didn't write "I Don't Love You," which speaks to her much-improved ability to tell a great, universal country story. In a way we've all written this song — if you've loved and lost you've also yearned at vulnerable times, perhaps even changing your habits to avoid falling into a sad trap that leads to a rebound or a late night phone call, or worse. It's hard to imagine the demo sounding anything like what you'll soon hear on the radio, however. The recently heartbroken singer's spoken-word style becomes a pained melody that soars atop 23 short words between each verse. The final chorus is special, with Ell shifting into yet another mode (or mood) for the fragile, whispered lines that eventually build to the end.
Ell struggled for years then tasted a little success with "Criminal" in 2018 before teaming with Gilbert in 2019 for a song that, by contrast, is very mainstream country rock. It's all empowered her to further refine who she is as a musician — thus far she's avoided temptation to do what's working. Originality looks good on Lindsay Ell. It sounds pretty good on the radio, as well.
Did You Know?: "I Don't Love You" was written by Adam Hambrick, Melissa Fuller and Neil Medley.
Don't Worry, Lindsay Ell Totally Has a Song About that Breakup:
Lindsay Ell's "I Don't Love You Lyrics"
I don't open up a bottle with my dinner / Because I know that it's just gonna sit / Out on the counter and go bad just / Like the leftovers you'd have said to leave at the restaurant / I don't go to anymore, because I don't go alone / So pick up, take-out and sit at home.
Chorus:
I don't love you baby / I don't love you no / I don't love you anymore / But I still miss you, still miss you sometimes.
My old Stevie Wonders sit on the shelf there / While they're gathering dust like the movies we would / Spend our late nights getting lost in / And I got so much free time on my hands / Because I don't do the things we did / 'Cause they're not as good without someone to share 'em with.
Repeat Chorus
I don't miss your kiss / The love you baby from your lips / When the lonely closes in / I fight to convince myself.
Repeat Chorus
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