Album Review: Mariel Buckley, Everywhere I Used To Be

Mariel Buckley opens Everywhere I Used to Be in the middle of a grimy bar that has sawdust on the floor. It’s the perfect backdrop for her new record whose alt-country arrangements move between pedal steel-laden, slow dance friendly numbers like “Whatever Helps You” and head bopping tunes like the title track. These songs can be bitter and they can be hazy but they shine bright even in the dingiest of places.

When Buckley points out the local skatepark or mentions the Circle K where you can buy cocaine outside of, Everywhere I Used to Be will remind you of bringing a love to the place where you grew up. Except the heartbreak that submerges most of the record (a particularly devastating line can be heard on “Love Ain’t Enough”: “Love ain’t enough. It’s a beautiful thought but when it’s said and done it’s just a word that we made up”) makes it feel like later on that same trip home, your love dumped you.

The specificity of Buckley’s songwriting really makes Everywhere I Used to Be feel special. Buckley’s writing is also moving and vivid because she is so forthright. On “Shooting at the Moon,” Buckley sings about being on the road and we return to a dingy bar, albeit a different one. Touring is tough and lonely and it can feel like you are constantly changing yourself to impress somebody. But Buckley knows what she wants and she gives it to us in return: “I wanna hear the truth.”

Everywhere I Used To Be was released August 12, 2022.
Listen to it here.