Amanda Shires’ ‘Nobody’s Girl’ is one of the year’s most honest explorations of heartbreak

by

Two years after a difficult breakup, singer and songwriter Amanda Shires finds herself in a quiet hotel bar, nervously reading from her notebook. She admits she’s been having trouble putting into words how she turned a really painful experience into her music.

Americana singer-songwriter Allison Russell’s album, “Nobody’s Girl,” is a deeply emotional work, similar to other albums that explore heartbreak, but also uniquely its own. With raw honesty and specific details, Shires connects with listeners through her vulnerable portrayal of grief, offering both a thoughtful look at the challenges of letting go and a sense of encouragement. The album feels like a personal journey-a search for healing, self-awareness, and genuine connection.

Heartbreak never truly disappears, according to Shires. She believes you don’t fully recover from it.

Does that scare her?

“No,” she replied quickly. “This isn’t a sign of weakness, it’s proof you lived fully. It shows you were brave enough to risk getting hurt, and that you followed your heart. You allowed yourself to love someone, and you weren’t afraid of the vulnerability that comes with it.”

Look, everyone knew I was going to have to talk about the breakup eventually, whether through my music or in interviews. Being half of a well-known couple in the Americana world meant the split with Jason Isbell was going to be public, and it *was* – especially since the documentary about him showed things falling apart. Honestly, I initially tried to avoid writing about it altogether. I really attempted to focus on, well, anything else – cars, landscapes, you name it – just to steer clear of what I was actually going through.

She immediately changed direction. Her new release, “Nobody’s Girl,” which came out on Friday, is bold and even directly mentions one of Jason Isbell’s most popular songs.

You know, I don’t really write songs *for* an audience. My main thought throughout the process was my daughter, Mercy. I really wanted to create something she could listen to one day and be proud of. More than anything, I hope she understands that even when life gets tough, you can turn pain into something beautiful. Things won’t always go the way you expect, and it’s okay to fall apart, but it’s also possible to pick yourself up and rediscover who you are in the process of rebuilding.

The interview started with me unexpectedly crying. I admitted to Shires that even though it’s been over two and a half years since my difficult breakup, it still affects me. Despite reading many self-help books and going to therapy, I’m still trying to understand what happened and move forward.

I was really captivated by the album “Nobody’s Girl.” It’s not an album that *tells* you what to do, but a collection of songs that beautifully explores those complicated feelings of loss – not just the end of a relationship, but the loss of a future you pictured and the way it changes who you are.

Amanda Shires says she’s currently not looking for a relationship. She wonders why anyone would willingly open themselves up to the potential pain of love, asking, ‘If we ever decide we want to try again, why put ourselves through that?’

Lifestyle

For Subscribers

Science can explain a broken heart. Could science help heal mine?

It’s not just emotional – science proves heartbreak can actually impact our brains and bodies. I wondered if researchers had found a way to use science to help heal a broken heart, so I asked them.

The album’s title comes from a central idea: taking back control. “Nobody’s Girl” explores this theme, and songs like “The Details” honestly portray the pain of realizing someone else distorts shared memories – as Shires sings, “He rewrites them so he can sleep.” “Not Feeling Anything” captures the strange numbness that can follow heartbreak, where even silence feels overwhelming. The album is beautifully crafted, moving between gentle waltzes and more expansive, atmospheric sounds.

This album acknowledges that even though heartbreak is a timeless subject for artists, it’s still a deeply mysterious experience. Society often pressures us to quickly move on, as if going out with friends can easily fix things. But it doesn’t work that way, and that’s where songs like Shires’ raw “Maybe I” and comforting “Living” come in. These songs explore the feelings of being home alone, grappling with memories of a past relationship, and simply trying to cope. As Shires sings, “Just existing can be hard. Maybe living is an art.”

I told Shires that, as a man, the worst advice I’ve usually gotten is to just move on and find someone new after a breakup.

“I’d heard the same thing – people telling me to just go on a date and see what happens,” Shires explained. “So I did, but it felt really awkward, like being stuck in a strange job interview. You end up having to correct someone’s behavior, like telling them not to take food from your plate. It’s just not a comfortable situation.”

In “Nobody’s Girl,” Shires frequently questions her own well-being, even wondering if she’ll ever truly be okay. The album is also rich with vivid imagery – from tarot readings with a mermaid to walks through New York City listening to Billy Joel, and even catching a glimpse of her ex-partner’s indifference on a security camera. That last image kicks off “Piece of Mind,” a powerful country-rock song where Shires cycles through anger, a desire for revenge, and a deep longing, with her fiery fiddle acting as her only companion and sounding board.

According to Shires, the songwriting stemmed from a need for resolution. “I think it’s about not having that closure,” she explains. “Writing helped me process things, because for a while I really wanted to say certain things – to someone I used to be very close to, a best friend.”

Shires briefly tries to lighten the mood with a joke about being emotional over laundry detergent, but quickly collects herself. She explains, “I realized it’s about taking responsibility and doing things yourself.” She adds, “It’s the song I love performing the most.”

Music

After a 24-year hiatus, the band Pulp has released a new album called ‘More’ and will be performing at the Hollywood Bowl this Thursday and Friday, along with LCD Soundsystem.

Shires says she’ll never play “The Details” in concert. When the song is mentioned, she’ll even tear a page from her notebook – one where she’d written about the emotions behind it that very day. It’s the most direct song on the album about her breakup, and she doesn’t hold back, expressing her sadness through the piano. She sings, “He scared me then, he still scares me now,” and she’s concerned about how listeners will interpret that honesty. She realizes that loving someone means being open and vulnerable, which inevitably brings the risk of fear and heartbreak.

Shires said, her voice shaking, “You must understand that lyric.” I nodded, explaining that I connected with the song’s feeling of fear and complete loss.

She explained she felt compelled to write everything down because the thought just felt so unkind. Then, she shared what truly frightened her wasn’t physical danger, but the emotional fear of having her work, her voice, altered or forgotten. For her, being ‘erased’ felt like being told she never had value. It really resonated with me – so many artists and writers worry about being misunderstood or having their contributions disappear, and that’s exactly what she was getting at.

The new song alludes to Jason Isbell’s 2013 song “Cover Me Up.” Although I didn’t directly ask Amanda Shires about referencing the song – which many believe was written about her – she explained her reasoning. She said the song had taken on a life of its own as a sort of legend, and that legends aren’t necessarily factual. Her intention wasn’t to diminish anyone’s work, but simply to share her own perspective. She emphasized that it wasn’t a reply to Isbell’s song, but rather a reflection of her own experience within the same marriage, viewed from a different angle. She’s focused on telling her own truth, not countering anyone else’s.

Shires hesitated, then shared what she’d written, admitting she wasn’t sure if it worked. She gave me the lyrics to hold onto. That section, called “The Details,” is a key part of the album. With its somber fiddle and harp, it suggests that communication can sometimes be irreparably damaged – and that’s when the deepest sadness begins. But it also opens the door to considering how one might start to heal.

I was writing this album while I was still dealing with the immediate fallout from my divorce,” Shires explains. “It’s not *about* the divorce itself, but what happened right *after*. It’s about the messy aftermath. Most breakup songs are written once someone has fully moved on and processed everything. But I was writing while I was *in* it, still figuring things out. It took me a while to accept that my songs were documenting that process – the raw, ongoing experience. So, I left in a lot of honest moments, even the difficult ones.”

I asked Shires when she started to feel like herself again, understanding that healing takes time. She shared one piece of advice for after a breakup: play games.

Shires noticed a clear division of opinions during the situation, and was surprised to discover she had fewer friends than she thought. She also had a strange encounter with a neighbor she barely knew – while getting her mail, the neighbor casually asked if she played backgammon.

She said she asked him if it reminded him of craps, that’s how captivated he was. Honestly, it got me thinking too – she was so fascinated, she actually hired a backgammon coach and started playing in a local league here in Nashville! It’s funny how a movie can inspire you to pick up a new hobby.

It’s incredibly engaging and takes over your whole attention,” Shires explains. “Plus, you’re interacting with another player. It might sound a bit cliché, but the game really comes down to how you react to the unpredictable dice rolls – you won’t always get lucky. Everything just fell into place for me. I needed something to do, a place to connect with others, and this gave me a hobby that was uniquely mine.

If backgammon isn’t the answer, she advises, don’t overthink it – just pretend you’re confident until you actually feel that way.

My therapist recently told me those were just words. I’ve realized there’s another way to feel better: allowing yourself to fully embrace the freedom of being unattached, like ‘Nobody’s Girl’.

Read More

2025-09-29 13:32