Amanda Shires’ Nobody’s Girl: Standing in the Aftermath
There are records that capture a fleeting moment, and then there are records that chart the hard path of rebuilding a life. Amanda Shires’ Nobody’s Girl, out now via ATO Records, belongs to the latter. Born from heartbreak and loss, it is a document of an artist reclaiming herself and standing in the aftermath of everything she once thought permanent.
Shires has never shied away from vulnerability. From picking up a fiddle as a teenager to performing with The Highwomen, and collaborating with legends like John Prine, she has built a career on honesty and emotion.
“Nobody’s Girl is what came after the wreckage, the silence, the rebuilding,” Shires said. “It’s about standing in the aftermath of a life you thought would last forever and realizing no one is coming to save you.” Produced by Lawrence Rothman and co-written with Shires, the album is more than a collection of songs; it is a record of survival and self-discovery.
The period leading to this album was marked by profound personal upheaval. “I went through these personal losses—my marriage, my grandmother, my dad… I got in a little wreck, all these things happening. Yeah, I feel like I did the right amount of work to get to a place where I can talk about it and feel comfortable about it,” she recalled. Her words carry a quiet precision, reflecting an artist willing to navigate grief without embellishment.
The loss of her father left a particularly deep mark. “I know my dad’s with me everywhere I go. He gave me everything I need to move forward. Especially in his loss, it’s a strange sense of feeling slightly untethered to the person that knew me,” she said. He nurtured her early love of music, buying her first fiddle from a pawn shop on the condition she learn to play. “He never once said I couldn’t do something; he always showed me how to do it. And he bought my first fiddle for me, and because I was raised the way I am, I always do what I say I’m gonna do.”
Shires’ upbringing also instilled a sense of continuity despite loss. She reflects on her grandparents’ influence: “With no living grandparents, I’m lucky that I had them for as long as I did and lucky that I got to learn as much as I did from them… I carry what they taught me every day with my own flowers and garden when I’m at home.” These threads of family, memory, and ritual inform the album’s themes of grief and resilience.
At the heart of Nobody’s Girl is reclamation—Shires’ attempt to regain identity and creative voice after upheaval. “It was necessary for me to do this to be able to work through it and get to a place where I was able to be a full human again. Just reclaiming my time, my body, my story,” she explains.
The album opens with “A Way It Goes,” an understated, soaring track that showcases Shires’ delicate vocals and expressive fiddle. She sings, “Spent a year looking inward and healing, made some new friends, don’t ask about the deep end. Even I couldn’t believe it when I felt my heart sprouting feathers and I caught myself dreaming again.” The 12-track record alternates between intimate ballads and rock-infused songs, recorded at Sound Emporium Studios in Nashville and Rothman Recorders in Los Angeles. Accomplished musicians—including Fred Eltringham and Julian Dorio on drums, Dominic Davis and Pino Palladino on bass, and Rothman on guitar—contribute, while Shires herself adds fiddle, tenor guitar, and ukulele, bringing intimacy and immediacy to each track.
Shires approached the album with courage and honesty. “I don’t ever want to be painted as a victim, but I want to be mindful for my daughter’s sake,” she said. “I want her to see that you can make something, whether it’s beautiful or a chaotic mess, out of anything you’re going through.” Her songwriting mirrors this philosophy—deliberate, fearless, and introspective—allowing her to excavate the heart of each experience.
Creativity extends beyond music for Shires. “Sometimes I’ll be painting and figure out some things that might work for my songs… it’s a good outlet for releasing all kinds of emotions at once. I feel fearless there because the worst thing that can happen is I just have to paint over it if it’s terrible.” The freedom she finds in art permeates her music, giving it a raw, immediate quality.
Ultimately, Nobody’s Girl is about regaining footing after life shakes you to the core. Shires said, “I did learn that I don’t crumble and that I’ve been able to rebuild and start again… Music is a good companion for that, and maybe mine could be a good companion for somebody going through whatever they’re going through.”
From her earliest days as a teenage fiddle prodigy with the Texas Playboys to her Grammy-winning collaborations and work with The Highwomen, Amanda Shires has consistently transformed life’s turbulence into music of remarkable depth. Nobody’s Girl is a testament to resilience, creativity, and the quiet strength required to rebuild both life and self.
Find more information here: https://amandashiresmusic.com
Good article about a grand artist and a spectacular record!