B-Side Guys

Neil Haverty resists being told what to do even when it’s born of love and care. “What I Don’t Need” captures that specific stubbornness—decision paralysis making you defensive about choices already made, even as you recognize there’s a lot about yourself that’s hard to see personally but obvious to friends and loved ones. The Toronto songwriter and Bruce Peninsula frontman tackles the tension between personal autonomy and responsibility toward others, building from pensive verses into cathartic chorus explosion that mirrors his struggle to balance reflection with expression.

Produced by long-time collaborator Leon Taheny (Owen Pallett, Weaves), the track adopts quiet/loud dynamics reminiscent of classic alternative rock to evoke topsy-turvy emotional landscape. Dark synths underscore introspective verses while crashing chorus captures the moment personal opinion bursts forth. Haverty explains the song traveled with him for years, taking several shapes before they pinned it down: “I wanted it to loudly proclaim what I didn’t want even though I’ve been quietly surveying the other side of things, too.”

The lyrics document the circular logic of caring relationships: telling someone you don’t need them worrying about you while simultaneously worrying about them worrying about you. Haverty acknowledges spending years making excuses and white lies, failing to take his own advice, wishing he could leave his body to look himself in the eye. But he also positions himself as stone to lean on, someone who won’t lead on or leave cold—reliable despite his own mess. The bridge’s overnight staying up until dawn, hearing it leave their lungs so it lives in both of them, captures how care gets shared whether you want it or not.

The title’s intentional caginess reflects someone resistant to being told what to do while trying to listen to voices that can see what he can’t. It’s about the responsibility to act that sometimes comes with being seen accurately, even when you’d rather avoid re-litigating decisions already made.

With over five million streams and a Polaris Prize long-list nomination from Bruce Peninsula, plus a 2025 Canadian Screen Award nomination for documentary series Who Owns The World and scores for Wildhood and Sleeping Giant, Haverty’s built a career on navigating complex emotional terrain. “What I Don’t Need” continues that trajectory, refusing easy answers about independence versus interdependence.