Eshan Agarwal Says Silence Hurts More Than Lies on New Single

New York singer-songwriter Eshan Agarwal writes from the space where feelings are too specific to explain and too universal to keep private. With his new single “That One’s On Me,” released April 3rd, he narrows his focus even further, zeroing in on the specific damage caused not by lies, but by omission.

The track marks the third installment in a narrative sequence that began with “The Siren” and continued with “Last Hour.” Where those earlier releases still carried a push-and-pull tension—the grip of a relationship not yet loosened—”That One’s On Me” shifts perspective entirely. Agarwal steps back from the heat of the moment and examines what actually happened.

“Omissions are more damaging in a quieter, more internal way than a direct lie,” Eshan Agarwal explained in a recent interview. “When someone lies, there’s clarity. You can point to it and say, ‘you actively deceived me,’ and that gives you something solid to hold onto, even if it hurts. There’s a kind of closure in that.”

That distinction drives the track’s central lyric: “You didn’t lie, not technically / But what you chose to hide said everything.” The song turns accountability inward—a self-examination of ignoring warning signs that were visible all along.

Produced by Marrick Smith, the single maintains the atmospheric, deliberate sound established across Agarwal’s recent work while pushing into sharper emotional territory. The Manhattan-based artist, who grew up in Scarsdale and has been writing music since age five, lives with synesthesia—a neurological condition where he perceives sound as color—which shapes his approach to melody and production. Melodies typically arrive first, carrying a specific emotional tone that later develops into lyrics and narrative.

“That One’s On Me” leads into Strangers Again, Agarwal’s forthcoming full-length album tracing the complete arc of a relationship from connection through collapse. The project approaches the material from multiple angles rather than strict linear narrative. Agarwal noted that he realized early he could write about this subject indefinitely—so the album became about choosing the moments that best told a journey.

“The moment it felt complete actually came at the very end, when I finished writing what became the first song on the album,” Eshan Agarwal said. “It was the last song I wrote, but it carried a sense of starting over. It didn’t feel like an ending—it felt like a reset.”

For an independent artist who has surpassed 65,000 Spotify streams and earned coverage from Illustrate Magazine, We Write About Music, and The Strive Magazine without major label infrastructure, “That One’s On Me” signals continued momentum. The single is available now on all major streaming platforms.