Ella Vos exposes her cancer diagnosis and treatment in her newest EP, Watch & Wait, released January 25, 2019. Despite the brevity of the collection, the 5 songs are filled with vulnerability, revealing Vos’s personal journey with herself throughout her illness, making it feel much longer than just 15 minutes.
An elegant pulse introduces the EP as Vos sings, “Will you take me as I am?” questioning her relationship with herself on the opening track, “Ocean.” This welcoming pop tune with relatable lyrics eases listeners into the story of Vos’s lymphoma.
Vos addresses her own change in mindset on her diagnosis in the second track on the EP, “Temporary.” The steady beat is guided by her impressingly high vocals, “So I’ve changed my mind // see it differently,” later begging “Please // tell me it’s only temporary.” The story continues onto exhaustion in “Castaway,” and feeling lost in “Lonely Road.”
A slower beat heightens the pain of having little to nothing left to give in “Empty Hands.” Raw footage of her last treatment for lymphoma in the “Empty Hands” video show the genuinity of each lyric. The pain in her voice is heard as it breaks when she sings “everything in love is killin’ me.” “Empty Hands” is heartbreakingly beautiful, the perfect song to wrap up the EP.
Ella Vos spills the depth of her soul into this EP, exploring her pain in a way that is more than relatable to listen. Watch & Wait is filled with cinematic melodies that nudge you towards the feelings of gazing out a rain-covered window as you contemplate the pain of existence. Ella Vos’s vocals are welcoming to the ears, the ideal instrument to beautifully narrate Watch & Wait.
Stream the EP here: https://ellavos.lnk.to/watchandwaitPR
Written by Stephanie Regan
Leave a comment