<p><span><span>- In her debut EP <em>Hospital</em>, Melbourne based singer-songwriter Eilish Gilligan has traded in the often carefree indie-pop of her earlier singles for a more nuanced and emotionally mature release. Her songs have always been personal, but here, she really inhabits her own skin, they finally sound like her; a songwriter with her emotions unbound. <em>Hospital </em>is not a move to a new sound, it's a journey to the centre of herself.</span></span></p>
<p><span><span>In a tweet earlier this week, Gilligan tweeted, “My EP is for the Uber drive home from a party that you left early because you’re depressed ONLY.” <em>Hospital </em>never feels like it dwells unnecessarily long on sadness though. Instead, aided by unobtrusive production, it smoothly and breezily navigates feelings, like a guiding light.</span></span></p>
<p><span><span>Standout track <em>Calling Me Out</em> sees Gilligan reflect on a relationship breakdown occurring over Christmas - something of a bad omen as we head into December. Synthesisers add a tranquil but gently moving accompaniment to her singing, almost finding a calm amidst the anxiety she recalls in her songwriting. The details of the interpersonal breakdown are not especially relevant, Gilligan is really singing about herself: her own feelings are the forefront of her music. </span></span></p>
<p><span><span>In <em>October, December</em> the instrumentation expands to feature soft piano and there's a greater focus on Gilligan's show-stopping voice. Her songwriting is especially haunting as she sings of memories fading away. I can only imagine how healing <em>Hospital </em>is for Eilish Gilligan, again it never feels like it dwells on sadness in the way you might expect from another singer-songwriter braving an exploration of mental health and failed releationships. Listening to this record feels calming, like a cushioned embrace.</span></span></p>
<p><span><span>I don’t know if Gilligan intended for <em>Hospital </em>to feel so much like a warm hug, or if she expected it would be a bold gesture, emotionally resonant yet painful, a la <strong>Julien Baker</strong>, <strong>Mount Eerie</strong>, or <em>Carrie & Lowell </em>era <strong>Sufjan Stevens</strong>. Yet this EP works so very well as a gentle, quiet reflection of a year gone so wrong. There’s no unnecessary melodrama just like there's no pop disguising the emotional complexity on display: it’s real, it’s Eilish Gilligan.</span></span></p>
<p><span><span>- Sean Tayler.</span></span></p>
<iframe style="border: 0; width: 100%; height: 120px;" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=1035955027/size=large/bgcol=f…; seamless><a href="https://eilishgilligan.bandcamp.com/album/hospital-ep">Hospital (EP) by Eilish Gilligan</a></iframe>