LA artist Ashley Elle dives into a turbulent relationship and all of the emotions that come with it on her excellent debut EP Say Something
With the release of her stellar debut EP Say Something, Los Angeles pop singer-songwriter Ashley Elle continues to establish the thoughtful and engrossing sensibilities that she has established over the last few years, delving into themes like love, lust, and heartbreak in her most cohesive and expansive collection of tracks to date.
The EP opens with the relatable ‘They Always Come Back’, a track that is packed with the kind of rawness and honesty that has made so many listeners fall in love with the artist and resonate with her words. The softness of the sound and heartbreaking honesty of the lyrics makes for a really potent listening experience that sets the scene for a rollercoaster ride of emotions and captivating sounds.
The title track ‘Say Something’ follows and has more of a flirty and upbeat feel to it from the offset, with the artist exploring attraction and knowing that somebody is interested in you with the kind of charm and straight-forward forthrightness that feels effortlessly fun and engaging. These two tracks immediately showcases rapidly different sides to romance and love through the artist’s sound and highlight her versatility and deftness at conveying the range of feelings that come with it.
Tracks like ‘Falling’ and ‘Save Us’ journey into some of the less fun times in a relationship, with the previous sense of wonder and excitement giving way to a relationship that feels like it exists on borrowed time, drifting away and no longer right for you, with ‘Save Us’ in particular venturing into murky themes like deceit and manipulation with powerful effect. The affable melodies of the tracks and Ashley’s committed vocal performances and the immersive narrative that weaves throughout the EP do a great job of keeping you glued to the EP.
‘Conditions’ is a track that showcases some of the more reflective aspects of the artist’s songwriting, with her coming to terms with the fact that the relationship has to end and articulating all of the building up feelings that have been stirring throughout the rest of the EP in truly cathartic and memorable fashion, whereas ‘One More Night’ finds itself the other side of the conclusion of the relationship and wishing that you could have some of those moments and some of its better aspects make, making for a really emotional and heartfelt way to conclude the collection of tracks.
Throughout its duration, there is a really enthralling narrative that runs throughout Say Something, giving it a really thoughtful appeal and charm as you go through the different stages of this rocky relationship up until it ends. The collection of tracks is a really striking showcase of the potential and character of the artist and the way that she can build a story and narrative around her words, and it makes for a really engrossing and often sobering look at how these kinds of situations and relationships can end up playing out.
