Ellie Goulding - Halcyon

[SockMonkey]

Have been listening to the album all week. The more I listen, the more it's sounding like a female-fronted Hurts album, which could explain why I like it so much.

I know the Calvin Harris track is pretty low-rent but I do like it. After the relative seriousness and intensity of the rest of the album, I sort of see I Need Your Love as the point at which Ellie says "Phew, time to relax and have a dance now." and the next few bonus tracks on the deluxe feel a bit like that too. It's like a deliberate shift in tone, which works for me.

I like how the album has very subtle dance influences - even down to the squeaky vocals in Only You, a common thing in dubstep.

I need to buy Bright Lights now. I'm not familiar with ANY of the previous singles bar Your Song - how similar is the album to Halcyon? I know I could just listen to samples, but I'm interested how fans compare the two.

[Sinful]

'Halcyon' and 'I Know You Care' are the best things on here for me.

[StratusJM]

I need to buy Bright Lights now. I'm not familiar with ANY of the previous singles bar Your Song - how similar is the album to Halcyon? I know I could just listen to samples, but I'm interested how fans compare the two.

They're really very different albums. 'Anything Could Happen' aside, Halcyon sounds like it was made by a completely different artist to the one who made Lights, I think.

[RobR]

Yeah very different.

She got it right when she said that 'Bright Lights' was just a collection of songs she'd written since she had started up - and as an album it very much feels like that. It's a fantastic album because the songs on it are fantastic but it doesn't feel as much as an album as this one. It can feel a bit disjointed in places, but that's only because this one feels so cohesive and fluid.

Definitely buy it though, it still ranks as one of my favourite albums ever. She's just a brilliant artist.

[Jonathan27]

I need to buy Bright Lights now. I'm not familiar with ANY of the previous singles bar Your Song - how similar is the album to Halcyon? I know I could just listen to samples, but I'm interested how fans compare the two.

Bright Lights is almost like the light side to Halcyon's dark. Ellie never gets too heavy on the former, which I find to be a very ethereal listen. Listening to Bright Lights is sort of like seeing billions of colors refracting, while Halcyon is like seeing one glimmer of light while trapped in the darkness. Brights Lights is young without being juvenile and vibrant without being necessarily optimistic. Halcyon is very jaded. I hope that helps.

[SockMonkey]

Ooh, well put. I shall purchase soon.

[clockworknovak]

I still haven't listened to this! Damn the post! Get my copy here faster! All of your descriptions are making my mouth water. This could end up with Electra Heart as one of my albums of the year, for sure.

[Cedric]

The bits in "Only You" between 1:27 and 1:47 / 2:49 and 3:27 remind me of Grimes at her best, which is a very good thing.

[HYSTERIA]

The NME review of this is hilarious, they make it sound as if she's singing Starships x 11

[Burqa Swag]

The NME review of this is hilarious, they make it sound as if she's singing Starships x 11

Is it because she isn't a pseudo-indie band? Wait, a minute.

Quirky-as-usual vocals lazily spliced into factory-standard chart dance

BYE.

They didn't even listen to it. They couldn't have.

[Andrwk]

It keeps getting better... It's beginning to rank up there for album of the year.

I don't like albums that have to grow on me, though. I mean clearly I've been interested in it at the beginning, but I can't help but feel like something's missing if it takes a while to grow on me.

[clockworknovak]

It keeps getting better... It's beginning to rank up there for album of the year.

I don't like albums that have to grow on me, though. I mean clearly I've been interested in it at the beginning, but I can't help but feel like something's missing if it takes a while to grow on me.

I'm speaking more generally here, as I haven't heard Halcyon yet, but I find the albums that grow on you have the longest shelf-life! Songs that are too instant tend to wear out their welcome fairly quickly. When an album exposes its intricacies over time, and you get to know it like you would a good friend or lover: that's heaven, amigo.

[Andrwk]

I'm speaking more generally here, as I haven't heard Halcyon yet, but I find the albums that grow on you have the longest shelf-life! Songs that are too instant tend to wear out their welcome fairly quickly. When an album exposes its intricacies over time, and you get to know it like you would a good friend or lover: that's heaven, amigo.

That's so deep.

It's true, I suppose. I guess I just like the instant gratification of hearing an album and loving it right away.

[Blodskur]

JOY is my favourite factory-standard chart dance song.

[Burqa Swag]

Dead in the Water is my go to generic pussy popping anthem.

[Alphableat]

Ooh, well put. I shall purchase soon.

Buy it all as it'll be dirt cheap, but the only songs you really need are Guns + Horses, Under The Sheets, Starry Eyed and the rerelease tracks (Home and Animal are out of this fucking world). And maybe The Writer. The rest is largely vacuous.

[KamikazeHeart]

This Love (Will Be Your Downfall) is still the greatest thing she's recorded.

[clockworknovak]

This Love (Will Be Your Downfall) is still the greatest thing she's recorded.

This is definitely the best song on Bright Lights, followed very closely by 'Human', 'Under the Sheets', 'Wish I Stayed', and 'Your Biggest Mistake'.

[Jonathan27]

This Love (Will Be Your Downfall) is still the greatest thing she's recorded.

It's up there for me, top five. I'd say the necessary tracks are:

This Love
Under the Sheets
Wish I Stayed
I'll Hold My Breath
Your Biggest Mistake

[claire_louise]

Buy it all as it'll be dirt cheap, but the only songs you really need are Guns + Horses, Under The Sheets, Starry Eyed and the rerelease tracks (Home and Animal are out of this fucking world). And maybe The Writer. The rest is largely vacuous.

I largely agree with that. There are a couple of other decent songs on the standard edition but it is very samey. Also, sockmonkey, the rerelease tracks are by far the most similar to Halcyon (the uptempo stuff, anyway).

[jk-ennedy]

I'll Hold My Breath is hands down the best song on Bright Lights. It baffles me that it gets very little recognition on here! SO euphoric. I could listen to that one track all day.

[Blodskur]

I'll Hold My Breath is hands down the best song on Bright Lights. It baffles me that it gets very little recognition on here! SO euphoric. I could listen to that one track all day.

Props need to be given to the original version "Swimming Pool".

[clockworknovak]

'I'll Hold My Breath' is just a hair too twee to be one of my favorites. It goes along with 'The Writer' and 'Believe Me' as my least favorite tracks. Still great, just not as mind-blowing.

Well, 'Your Song' is my least favorite, hands down. That doesn't even count though, as it's not even Ellie's song.

[SockMonkey]

That NME review is obscene. The reviewer has clearly looked at the back of the CD, seen the words "Calvin Harris" and based the entire review on it. I can 100% guarantee they haven't listened to a note of it. Hilarious.

And I was only ever going to get Bright Lights - there's no way I could buy a standard release of a CD!

[Alphableat]

It is worrying. I'll never understand why you'd get someone completely uninterested in an artist to write a review. It'd be like PopJustice doing a weekly metal review.

In other news, I'm so pleased Figure 8 is listed on the CD sticker as a single. It'll really show off the quality of the production and hopefully give her a bit of a club hit before she can move onto something a bit subtler. Only You, Halcyon and My Blood all deserve to be released, too. I Know You Care can round out the era.