Canadian singer, songwriter and producer Elijah Woods, born in Ontario, used to be part of the pop music duo Elijah Woods x Jamie Fine, but nowadays the artist writes and produces his own music, having released a total of three EPs and a multitude of singles besides that so far, with ‘24/7, 365’ gaining hundreds of millions of streams. On the 27th of September, Woods released his newest EP Hey There Elijah, an obvious wordplay on the Plain White Tees track ‘Hey There Delilah’.
The EP opens with the track ‘Elijah Wood’, which speaks about the comparison between singer and producer Elijah Woods and the actor from Lord of the Rings, Elijah Wood. The song starts with a soft introduction where Woods sings the lyrics that are also the EP’s title, “Hey there Elijah”. In the first verse, which includes synths as well as drums, he sings “Would you like to go and live a different life where you’re the actor from that movie with the ring?”, making the comparison immediately clear to the listener. After this verse and the chorus, the drums in the song build up to its second verse. “1, 2, 3, 4”, a voice in the background sounds out before Woods continues singing to the heavy drums and electric guitars. “I feel like Frodo in disguise” he sings, with the background vocals shouting “Who am I?”. The banging instrumentals continue into the chorus and third verse, talking about experiencing an existential crisis. In the song’s bridge, the lyrics “Do you need help?” are repeated several times, with the instrumentals emphasizing the feeling of being stuck in a vicious cycle of not knowing who you are that you can’t break out of. For the final seconds of the song, Woods tones it down again by softening the instrumentals and repeating the lyrics from the introduction. It is a perfect opener to the EP that immediately sets the tone for self-discovery as a theme throughout the work.
Second on the EP is ‘2 Thousand 10’, which was released as a single back in July. The track opens with the strumming of a guitar before the drums kick in and Woods sings how he “think[s] I’ve lost myself today”. After the short first verse and pre-chorus, the instrumentals become a lot heavier for the chorus, in which he reminisces about the summer of 2010. The song, which is just a little over 2 minutes long, talks about wishing how he could go back to simpler times when he did not feel so lost yet. In the bridge, the words “yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, screaming” are repeated; this is interesting as “at the top of our lungs screaming” is the last lyric of the chorus, which talks about how he felt in 2010, enjoying his time with his friends. However, at the same time, it also feels like Woods is still screaming right now – not from enjoyment, but from the frustration he feels inside. It’s an interesting dichotomy that makes for multiple interpretations of the song.
Next up is ‘We Should Stick Together’, a summery indie bop filled with guitars and lo-fi drums. It is a cute little song about Woods and another person, to whom he is singing that they should stick together no matter what. In the first and second verses, Woods describes different scenarios such as when the two of them are driving, all alone out in the world and in different weather types, through which they should always stay by each other’s side. In the chorus Woods is calling himself and the other person things that usually belong together, like “glue” and “feathers”, and “the cold” and “sweaters”. While a bit silly, it is a very enjoyable song that one could definitely put on repeat on a long road trip.
Fourth on the EP is the other single, ‘Sunlight!’ which starts with the fast strumming of guitars and Woods diving right into the first verse. It goes back to the earlier theme of feeling lost, although in this case, that seems to be because of another person who has hurt him. “I don’t wanna be around you anymore” he sings. A fast-paced track, it makes for a true banger that talks about neither knowing what you want nor where to go. The only part of the song that slows it down is the bridge, where Woods’ slightly distorted vocals sing “Either you can’t or you won’t or you’re out of control”, which pretty much sums up this EP’s meaning.
The slowest song on the EP is definitely ‘January Eyes’, which opens with an acoustic guitar which is joined by some drums eventually. A break-up song, it talks about how the narrator and his partner “didn’t ever wanna change”, but they could not stop the gloom from coming for their relationship eventually. It seemed that while things were still okay over the summer, now “that it’s cold” the two of them are no longer together. In the second verse, Woods sings about “one last shot to you and I”, which could refer to a literal moment the two of them experienced but could also refer to how this song is a way of saying one final goodbye. What stands out a lot here are the two choruses, where the vocals are so heavily distorted that it is hard to make out the words being sung. This could be meant as another way to add to the EP’s feeling of being misplaced, in this case, due to the break-up. The words are not clear because he feels lost inside.
To conclude the work, the EP ends with ‘Wash Away’, opening softly with organ-like synths before Woods runs through the lyrics of the first verse. It is not entirely clear what the song is about, but from the lyrics, it seems to be about his partner who has been going through a lot despite seemingly having it all. In the first verse, Woods talks about a “house on the gold coast” and “lavender iced tea”, describing the perfect summer. However, he later on mentions a “hole in the drywall”, alluding to violence within this home. Furthermore, in the chorus filled with massive drums and guitars, he sings how “I watch you wash away” – it seems like this person is going through a dark time, dragging themselves down, mentioning how the person was “digging a hole” – presumably for themselves, led by “the devil”. While the meaning can be interpreted in many ways, it is an interesting song that builds up nicely – ending with a final, soft rendition of the title lyric before fading out.
Honestly, this entire EP makes the listener just want more. The songs are interesting both in terms of their instrumentals as well as lyrics and thematically fit so well together. All one can ask now is when it is time for his debut album, as this is something many will look forward to.
Written by: Mandy Huibregtsen
Edited by: Marieke Weeda
