Ellise Delivers a Haunting Friday the 13th Eulogy in 'OVER HER DEAD BODY'
“Mourning, turn my ashes into dust, burned it down and lit it up.”
There’s nothing quite scarier than reflecting on the “you” you used to be—the “you” who got the haircut that made yourself look like a pencil, who drank a little too much cheap wine that one night, who found yourself in a seven-month situationship with an emotionally unavailable person, who went to great lengths to fit in, who stayed friends with people who routinely talked behind your back, who didn’t understand that, sometimes, it’s not the time or place to speak—the “you” who didn’t know any better, but made the “you” who you are today. Right in time for Friday, the 13th, Ellise has released her fifth Halloween-themed project, OVER HER DEAD BODY, where she pens a hauntingly poetic eulogy to her past self.
If I could describe the experience of listening to OVER HER DEAD BODY, I would compare it to that of tearing all of the pages out of your diary, throwing them into a fire, and watching each and every word and thought and memory crumble into a pile of dusty ashes. With each song, Ellise buries the old version of herself deeper and deeper into the ground. Kicking the project off with “HALF A HEART,” Ellise puts a metaphorical knife through her chest and stitches it right back up through twisted melodies and distorted basslines. She sings, “I’ve got half a heart, the rest of it’s sitting in the graveyard.” Meanwhile, “MASOCHIST” offers Ellise’s version of a ‘love song’ in the form of two voodoo dolls where absolutely anything and everything goes.
“KILLER” feels like the older sister to “911,” where Ellise doesn’t hold back, pulling out her darkest thoughts and turning them into something beautiful. Throughout the project, pulsating 808s and angelic harmonies create a perfect tension between the vocals and production that perfectly capture the yin-and-yang essence of Ellise’s music: it’s cute, but also kind of creepy, and somehow leaves you craving more. It’s bunnies and ribbons and ballet-core, but it’s also spiders and sharp objects and the monster under your bed. Meanwhile, in the standout track “MOURNING,” Ellise is delicately laying flowers down by her grave and singing soft falsettos before granting herself permission to evolve into the new version of herself.
Ellise has a knack for visual storytelling; when you listen to her music, it’s almost like you can envision the song unfolding in front of your eyes. Through its use of sound bytes, evocative lyricism, and cinematic instrumentals, “APPETITE” places the listener sitting in the dead center of a dining table in a haunted house – sitting atop a lace tablecloth, surrounded by cobwebs, knives, and a very hungry Ellise. (When I say ‘evocative,’ I mean it.) For dessert, “MASSACRE” ties up the project with a dainty, white satin bow stained in bright red, as Ellise dwells on her younger self one last time before leaving the grave for good. The project with an apology: “Sorry for the torture / Murder, murder / Guess I shoulda warned you / Screaming ‘bloody massacre.’”
OVER HER DEAD BODY is a testament to Ellise’s artistry: dark, introspective, and delicately beautiful, all wrapped up in the form of a bouquet of baby pink roses laid against a rusty gravestone. Listen at your own risk.
Listen to OVER HER DEAD BODY below:
