A Chat with Eleanor (17.06.25)
With the release of her genre-blending new EP, There’s No Quiet, There’s Little Relief, Liverpool-based soul-pop artist Eleanor invites listeners into a deeply personal archive of emotional firsts. Brimming with raw honesty, sweeping arrangements, and fearless self-expression, the project marks a defining chapter in an artist unafraid to let the music speak what words once couldn’t. We chat with Eleanor about the EP and more below.
OSR: Let’s start with the obvious: this EP is not afraid to feel big feelings. What was the emotional or personal spark that kicked off There’s No Quiet, There’s Little Relief?
Eleanor: That’s such an interesting way to phrase that question because I think ultimately I was writing these songs to cope with how afraid of my big feelings I was. I sort of longed for the even keel, I envied people who seemed relaxed day by day. My head was a mess trying to make sense of extreme jealousy, extreme lust, and extreme rejection. There was seldom quiet nor relief from the million trains of thought running around my head.
OSR: ‘Sugar’ feels like your “hot girl making bad decisions” anthem; it’s flirty, funky, and kind of defiant. What headspace were you in when you wrote it? Was it as fun to create as it sounds?
Eleanor: That’s such a good description. I was full of hormones, honestly, but didn’t have the confidence to express those desires to people. It was a throw everything at the song type of experience in the studio, and I loved it.
OSR: The production is so lush and cinematic; strings, synths, all of it. What did those early conversations sound like with your collaborators? Did you give them a clear vision, or did it evolve as you went?
Eleanor: The strings and harmonies sort of guided everything I did for the longest time. When I wrote these songs, I just wanted them to have a James Bond orchestra behind them, so that was a very clear starting point. The synths came during the process, the epic drums, the fun bass lines. The constant phrase we kept saying: “It’s great, but it needs more”. It just needed to be massive, so we put every layer we could think of in and then some.
OSR: There’s a theatrical, almost operatic quality to the EP, like it could be staged in a velvet-curtained, candle-lit theater. Are there specific visual or cinematic influences you were channeling?
Eleanor: Candle-lit is pretty on the money. Our Liverpool-based launch was held in a venue that feels like a rustic 50s theatre, seated with candles on every table and bunches of flowers and leaves engulfing the stage. This EP was so inspired by film and TV soundtracks, I want it to transport you to your own music video moment, turn your surroundings into the perfect place to reflect on how you feel, volume just loud enough in your ears that you feel like the only person in the world. If you cry, that’s a real bonus.
OSR: ‘Cold Day in Hell’ could be the soundtrack to a femme fatale walking away from an explosion. How did that track come together? And what drew you to that noir, dramatic sound palette?
Eleanor: I was really angry when I wrote it, but the production was all Ben Lowe. We chatted about my influences, Hozier was massive for this track. The way he utilises his instrumentation feels so dramatic, like it hits you right in the gut. Ben made something I hadn’t been able to verbalise, and then we layered so many harmonies on top, he wrote that amazing guitar lick. It was such a great collaboration. Ben and I both love love love blues music, so we wanted to get that sexiness in there.
OSR: You manage to balance heartbreak with humour. Some of your lyrics feel like they’re winking through the tears. How do you walk that line without losing the emotional weight?
Eleanor: I suppose it still comes from a place of not wanting to bring the mood too far down, that’s definitely one part of it. I’d also say that if you’re not laughing through the pain just a little, then maybe it’s not the right time to talk about it. That’s definitely not always the case, but I feel like if I’m so engulfed in my hurt, then I can’t see the whole picture; perspective is key to writing a balanced song.
OSR: The title There’s No Quiet, There’s Little Relief is so evocative. What does it mean to you personally? Why did it feel like the right title for this body of work?
Eleanor: It’s a lyric in the last track of the EP, and when I was thinking what I wanted it to be called, it just hit me one day. My head is never quiet; I’m always thinking, worrying, lusting, crying. This work especially is reflective of a time in my life amidst a silly amount of noise, working my way through that was fucking hard, so I thought yes, let’s show people the drama. Make it say what it does right there on the tin. You hear “There’s no quiet, there’s little relief”, you don’t assume you’re in for a rainbows and sunshine experience; this is deep shit, let’s go through it together.
OSR: There’s a lot of vulnerability on this record, but also control, like you’re fully owning the drama. Did making this EP feel cathartic, or was it more about performance and storytelling?
Eleanor: I’m unsure if it was one or the other, but I did feel that putting this record out it lifted such a weight for me. Musically and personally.
OSR: What’s one sound, instrument, or production trick on the EP that you’re especially proud of – something listeners might not notice right away, but that feels essential to the vibe?
Eleanor: The lapsteel/synth on ‘copper’. It was immediately the vibe I’d wanted but never been able to put my finger on. That’s my favourite track on the EP. I’m so proud of what that song has become.
OSR: Now that the EP’s out in the world, what’s one reaction you’ve gotten from fans or listeners that really stuck with you? Something that made you feel seen or understood?
Eleanor: A lot of crying. Crying at the shows, messages that songs made them cry out of nowhere. I’m incredibly honoured to have created a vessel for people to process their own emotions. The fact that anyone resonates with what I’ve made it’s the entire reason I do this. I remember being eight years old, listening to a song, weeping and feeling incredible all at once. I remember especially thinking that if I can help one person feel this way, then everything is worth it.
Many thanks to Eleanor for speaking with us. Find out more about Eleanor on her Instagram, Facebook, and Spotify.
