Lindsay Ell got lost in country music; with a reset, she’s learning to love herself

By David Friend, The Canadian Press on November 3, 2024.

TORONTO – Lindsay Ell says in hindsight, she never really fit the country music mould.

And that’s why the Calgary-raised singer-songwriter is switching gears more than a decade into her career, leaving Nashville country behind for a new record of confessional alt-pop music.

Ell’s recently released EP “Love Myself” sees her going deep into her experiences battling an eating disorder and overcoming her lack of self-confidence.

She says it’s the first time in a long time that she’s been able to create the music she hears in her head, after years of trying to make everything she recorded feel more country.

Ell says she often threw a steel guitar or banjo into the sound mix to appease producers on her earlier albums, but it was always apparent how different she was from her contemporaries on a country music festival lineup because she didn’t have a single song about drinking beer.

She says “Love Myself” puts her closer to where she wants to be, with a sound influenced by her idols who include John Mayer and Timmins, Ont.-raised Shania Twain.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 3, 2024.

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