EP Review: Lindsay Ell’s ‘Worth The Wait’
'Worth the Wait' shows off Lindsay Ell’s talent in all capacities, as a guitarist, vocalist and songwriter.
Rising country star Lindsay Ell has been making her fans wait for new music for quite some time, but with the release of her debut EP, it’s easy to see it was worth it.
The six-track project, appropriately titled Worth the Wait, features three songwriting credits for Ell, a cover of John Mayer’s “Stop This Train” and cuts from noteworthy songwriters Heather Morgan (“Beat of the Music,” Brett Eldredge), Caitlyn Smith (“Wasting All These Tears,” Cassadee Pope) and country up-comer Ryan Hurd.
Ell teamed up with Kristian Bush (of Sugarland) for production on the EP. He put the focus on Ell’s out-of-this-world guitar playing and vocal-range, then blended it with hints of pop and soul to create a unique country record.
The 28-year-old artist explores matters of the heart throughout the track list. The title track, “Worth the Wait,” is a song of vulnerable desperation. Her voice comes through as raw, adding to the lyrics’ impact.
“You keep saying you ain’t ready/So I keep hangin’ on,” opens the tune while providing a heart-wrenching summary.
“Standing Here” and “Space” continue to tell tales of heartbreak stemming from someone else walking out. The latter is reminiscent of something Mayer, who happens to be a major influence on Ell, would sing. Both provide perfect background music to crying into a bowl of ice cream over a breakup. Ell just gets it.
Things get a little lighter with “Criminal” and “Waiting on You.” Early stages of relationships are discussed in these tracks in a flirty and fun way. Though not confirmed, one can speculate that maybe these are inspired from her early days of dating national radio personality Bobby Bones?!
Ell wraps the project up with her rendition of Mayer’s “Stop This Train.” Her version has a slower tempo, but maintains the same sentiment of wishing everything wouldn’t go by so fast.
Worth the Wait shows off Ell’s talent in all capacities, as a guitarist, vocalist and songwriter. With this release, she now has us on the edge of our seats waiting for her first full-length album.
