Claire by Ella Woolsey
by Lana Fleischli
I want to introduce you to (if you don’t already know her), Ella Woolsey. I’ve been listening to her EP Claire this past week. I love a good EP because there’s usually a story or a way the songs flow together. While that is often true with albums, EPs are usually a taste of what’s to come and I kind of like the mystery.
A few things caught my attention about Ella Woolsey right away: she is 17 (which is so impressive to be making music so young), and the album title, Claire. There are two reasons behind that. I think it is fascinating when songwriters call out people in their music. She doesn’t only do it in her music, but also titles the album with it. Also, the name stuck out to me for the very basic reason that Claire is the name of one of my best friends (boring reason, I know. What can I say?).
The thing with names is that when I see a song titled a name, I want to know what happened with that person. Is it a love song to that person? Did that person hurt the singer? WHO IS THIS PERSON?!
Throughout Claire, Ella Woolsey sings about a relationship. I love her songwriting because she writes in such detail. You can see and feel what she sees and feels. It starts with her describing being with a person. In the first song “Bass,” she describes their room and their bed. She layers her voice with harmonies, which adds to a visceral picture of a very sweet scene.
In the second song, “Asset?,” she continues to describe this picture of a very sweet relationship. Gentle and light, she layers harmonies again and it gives the listener a fuller idea of what she previously described in “Bass.”
In “fnm,” the music changes more. There’s more of a rhythm with the bass and drums and she takes the listener through her thoughts about this person, which are all very sweet and seem to describe a good relationship. At this point, I’m thinking that Claire is a positive inspiration, but then there’s the last song.
“Claire (doesn’t believe in apologies),” the final song, describes what I would consider a pretty toxic relationship. The title gives it away. This is the only song on the EP that does not have harmonies and layering in the song, which shows how it’s already more of a sad song. The harmonies are used in the other three songs, and the songs are about pretty joyful things. It’s a little metaphorical: the harmonies and layering in the music are used to express joy in the music composition.
Ella never tells the listener if she has been talking about Claire the whole time. It would make sense if she was, but that would also be a big 180 to pull on a person. It’s like Claire is great for the first three songs, then leaves, and never apologizes for the wrongs that she has done. Or perhaps Claire is a completely separate entity from the other relationship she describes. Or maybe each song is about a different person! See I could go on and on! I love the mystery and trying to figure out the story, because I love a good story!
Ella Woolsey’s EP, Claire made me remember past friendships that ended badly. It made me remember how I kept ignoring it and blamed myself. I think that’s what's great about music, specifically this EP. It makes you think about life and the people that you let in. The good and the not-so good. We all need those reminders so we can all do better for ourselves and the people around us in the future.