Ellen Once Again, ‘Love Myself’
“I’m braver than I give myself credit for,” Ellen Once Again (the musical moniker of Dallas-based singer-songwriter Ellen Hinton) sings on the title track of her new EP, Love Myself. Although she’s speaking of mustering the courage to love herself so she can love others, her bravery also manifests itself in her unabashed embrace of the pop idiom, which is being forever twisted and warped by North Texas artists. Playing around with proven formulas is fine, but every so often, you want some handclaps, lilting layered harmonies and habit-forming melodic hooks, delivered by a vocalist in full control of her abilities. Ellen Once Again effortlessly delivers such pleasures repeatedly over the course of these four songs, which linger long after the final notes fade.
