Ella Galvin navigates everything life has to offer on ‘The Way It Goes’

Recommended Tracks: “Pink Shoes,” “Spare Me,” “Passing the Time”
Artists You Might Like: Bellah Mae, Raye, Stacey Ryan

It is clear that as you get older, you have to pick and choose your battles. You are not going to be able to put out all the fires, you won’t have the strength to tackle every disagreement. It is all up to you to figure out how your day unfolds. This is just the way life is, or The Way It Goes, as Ella Galvin suggests on her debut EP. Across the project’s six songs, we accompany Ella as she navigates everything life has to offer, from moments of heartbreak to instances of total elation. In the end, we discover how the New York-based singer and songwriter makes the most of life’s daily battles, leaving us with a feeling that we can all handle our next move.

With “Pink Shoes” and “Do Not Disturb,” the EP opens in a very dynamic way that showcases Ella’s versatility as an artist. On “Pink Shoes,” she leans into pop, rap, and jazz elements, seamlessly mixing the glittery with the edgy and the sultry. Throughout the track, Ella celebrates how far she has come, setting us up for a song that you want to put on when you are feeling yourself. She sings, “Put on my pink shoes / And I’m feeling brand new / I’m doing all these things I never could with you.” In the bridge, however, she starts to rap about how she has come out on top, defeating the “tough times” she has experienced. We get more understanding of how light she is feeling after hearing this part of the song, and it rounds out our understanding of Ella as a whole. She follows “Pink Shoes” with “Do Not Disturb,” which also promotes these different sides of Ella. Inspired by a tricky “situationship” she had last year, Ella details how she was both attracted to and unbothered by this person. Over the forward-moving beats, she sings, “Why do I care so little / What it’s gonna turn into? / Might be an easy fix / Consistency’s an opportunity,” grappling with this relationship. In the end, she leaves a sassy little voicemail that clears up where she stands while adding a bit of humor to the track.

Towards the middle of the EP, we can sense that Ella takes her relationships seriously and feels love deeply. On “Spare Me,” she tries to decide whether she was better off loving someone who was emotionally unavailable or not at all. The lyrics, much like the music, can be quaint and charming or moody and dramatic, reflecting the wild ride Ella has been on emotionally. With soulful vocals, she sings, “Wondering am I in love / Or is it just ‘cause you’re getting on a flight tomorrow?” and “So appealing ‘cause you’re leaving, I know / That’s why / And in the months to come, I’ll try my best to keep you off of my mind,” leaving her hesitations and her desires out on the table. With “Don’t Look Ahead,” she reclaims a bit of power, telling someone that she has decided to move on. She claims, “And you decided / That you didn’t wanna deal with me / ‘Cause you’ve been lying” and “I would be so in love with you right now / If you could make it up to me / But you can’t, so why don’t you let me be?” Taking these lyrics in, it would seem as if this were an angry or heavy track, but there are warm melodies and rich textures throughout, especially towards the end of the song when Ella’s vocals overlap with each other.

The last two tracks on The Way It Goes bring the EP to a strong close. We are treated to the title track, which gets into that classic post-breakup conflict of wanting to see the ex while also wanting to stay away. We have prominent beats, colorful bursts of pop rock, and soulful vocals, making this more a funny celebration of the situation than an awkward one. Ella just lets her cares go away, singing, “It’s just around the corner, baby / Let’s not leave it alone / That’s just the way it goes / Can’t fight this feeling of happiness.” She is ready to have a good time, no matter what happens. The mood is not as carefree, however, on “Passing the Time.” The final track of the project, “Passing the Time” takes a look back at Ella’s pursuit of a music career. It starts out a little defeated, as Ella expresses, “I wish I knew my dreams sooner,” and vents about working a job she’s not crazy about. She wants more and is impatient about it not happening fast enough. Even though she tells us, “I’m waiting on tables / I’m waiting ‘til I’m fucking able / To sit with my idols at the dinner table / I’m too poor to afford a bagel / My therapist says I’m far from stable,” we know that she’s trying her best. It’s cool and collected but also bright and merry, making it more optimistic than pessimistic.

Weaving various emotions together with eclectic styles and genres, Ella has presented us with a stunning collection of songs on The Way It Goes. She is as expressive as possible by emoting through lyrics and music, and not only relying on one or the other to get her stories across. Altogether, we are given tracks like “Pink Shoes” and “The Way It Goes” that tap into riding a high while others like “Do Not Disturb” and “Spare Me” touch on assorted lows. In the end, Ella reminds us that you have to just do you and embody whatever that entails.