Having grown up around the stage, whether through musical theatre or singing, Beth Elsden is evidently no stranger to harmonies and atmospheric melodies. Not long into a budding singer-songwriter career ‘The Waiting Room’ is her debut EP, showcasing a beguiling vocal talent which, at 26, she is now ready to share. Personal and emotional, her songs explore beauty in the in-between seasons of life.
One’s 20s can feel like a decade in a pressure machine, where you need to check off all the boxes en route to a successful life. Beth Elsden understands those feelings and across this emotive folk pop EP beautifully captures the sinking sense of being left behind as everyone else moves forward.
Finding its start while she was studying at Otago University, ‘Waiting Room’ was created alongside producer Abby Wolfe and developed over five years – a literal time capsule of the artist’s experiences of sitting and contemplating in her own life’s waiting room.
Opening proceedings the title track is in one sense an acceptance of that reality, but equally carries a sense of bottled up frustration. Clever use of ambience and natural breath constructs the very waiting room this EP reflects on. It’s an authentic introspection, guided by soft guitar and melodies slowed to imitate that very raw feeling of waiting. As a listener you can’t help but feel you too are sitting beside her in that space.
Losing You Slowly picks up the tempo in comparison, infusing some hope into the physical and metaphorical waiting room. This track includes beautiful harmonies and a cloud-9 dreamy synth pop feel. Between layered acoustic guitar, gentle drums, and background harmonies it illustrates that grief in its many shapes and sizes is a slow journey. Losing You Slowly is a confession, not revealed all at once but rather a gradual admission of how it feels to lose someone, or one’s self.
Mood and emotion diverge into a romantic vibe found in Catch Feelings. Moving past the busy-ness and pressure associated with one’s early 20s, Catch Feelings is uncluttered, with precise and deliberate sound. As the track progresses, more layers and textures are added, replicating what it feels like to develop or catch feelings for someone. A highlight here is the orchestral layering behind the vocals creating the airy and emotional atmosphere.
Acceptance of the waiting room nears completion in Peace Comes With It. The lyric ‘I want the chaos if your peace comes with it too,’ sums up the sentiment to a T. Supported by strings, keys and reverb the track is bittersweet and cinematic. It unpacks the tension of loving someone completely, with all their chaos and complexities. Even in the waiting room, peace and chaos can walk hand in hand.
The closing track of this EP journey through time and understanding is a reclamation of power and confidence. Haunts You takes on a similar idea to Fleetwood Mac’s Silver Springs, tackling those unresolved emotions. Elsden’s assured vocals and dreamy harmonies further add to the track’s dynamic growth and understanding that feelings can continue to linger.
Reminiscent of Taylor Swift and Lizzie McAlpine, ‘Waiting Room’ is both beautiful and genuine. Beth Elsden shows that, even if it sounds cheesy, good things do take time. The waiting room can be beautiful and healing if we choose it to be.
