Ellie Goulding - Halcyon

Let's pretend the Elton John cover never happened.

2010's Lights was received with all the excitement and furore of a plate of asparagus. Yet, despite all of the backlash against what was that year's BRIT Critic's Choice recipient, Goulding's debut was quite convincing in showing us her abilities. She'd issued her obligatory synth-pop tracks and singles in the form of Under the Sheets and Starry Eyed to varying success, and the album also featured maturer, sweeter pieces in the way of The Writer and Guns and Horses. It wasn't a phenomenal breakthrough, but it had enough charm for me to care even an ounce about a follow-up (but that's not really a compliment from someone still willing to review Alphabeat). This time around?

It's a bit more tribal and anthemic; a bit more piano and vocal than anything. The last album was very electronic, but it was tied in with my voice; this one, to me, is way more of a pop record.

 YAY.

But what's this? We kick off with 'Don't Say a Word', a moody, dark buzz of noise with a generous dollop of angst, and a half-calming, half-unnerving synthesized background that grows and subsides unpredictably, all whilst Goulding vows "I'm more alive than I've ever been/ So now I give you all my sins". Which makes you think of sex, doesn't it? "My bones will bleach, my flesh will flee" warns the much less sexy 'My Blood', which revives her penchant for a high-pitched vibrato chorus backed by choirs and pretty pianos, making it all very Florence + the Machinish. The sampling of her voice is taken down a much poppier route, though, on the single 'Anything Could Happen', a proper stomper of a chorus and - slight overuse of the title repeatedly aside - a fantastic song. The lyrics sometimes verge on the cliched - she's "on [her] knees" in 'Only You' - but it rarely matters; this track in particular is a strong example of her ear for great timing and the intuition for when to throw in a new synth section, or mix up the rhythm a little.

It's not all dancing, though. The title track integrates an acoustic guitar and an understated bassline, giving Goulding the opportunity to show off her breathy and sweet vocals. For me, 'Figure 8' is a bit of an odd choice as a second single from this project, but I can understand the selection: it's undercut with very vogue synth chords and the whole occasional-breaks-for-harps shtick feels very trendy, but I don't know. It doesn't grab me as much as other tracks do. For example, although 'Hanging On' isn't one of my favourites of the album, it has a very distinctive sound and is immediately recognisable, whereas others blend into each other lazily. The first glimpse of the album that anyone saw, 'Explosions', rather fails to live up to its name; instead a swelling bittersweet send-off ("I pray that you find peace of mind, and I'll find you another time").

Similarly poignant is the ballad 'I Know You Care', that, cheesy lyrical inclusions aside ("I see it in the way that you stare"), showcases cowriter Justin Parker's knack for a simple, gorgeous love song (he co-wrote Bat for Lashes' Laura as well as Lana Del Rey's Video Games). The whole spine-tingly Florenceandthemachinism vibe returns, then, on 'Atlantis', a series of pleading "where did you go?"s and "I'll forget you not"s. Saving the best 'til last, however, 'Dead in the Water' - cowritten by her debut record's main writer Starsmith - possesses this incredibly tense, captivating tone throughout and with eternal, doomed-romantic lyrics a sense of Miss Havisham about it all.

Strong throughout, Halcyon has occasional moments of mediocrity but Goulding manages to bookend these with some fantastically serene hallmarks. An uplifting, essentially cute (rather than, perhaps, deep or groundbreaking) album.

Rating: 7.5/10
Highlights: Anything Could Happen, Dead in the Water, I Know You Care, Halcyon, My Blood
Avoid: n/a

Artwork Watch: "You BITCH!" Emeli Sande screams, before lunging over the cafeteria table. (I'm trying to say their album artwork looks the same through the medium of Mean Girls-inspired overreactions). 
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