the (21 hours late) sunday review: "bright lights" by Ellie Goulding

First off: I am terrible, and I know it. But better late than never, and besides no one really cares about these things anyway.

 

Despite that, I will today be reviewing Ellie Goulding´s debut album, “bright lights”. And yes...this one has, just like the previous one, a shit-ton of tracks. O joy.;)

 

We start off the album strong. And by strong, I mean breathtaking, so good you wish you=d have written it. This awesomeness is titled “guns and horses”, and musically, it´s...very Ellie. and by that, I mean electronic music, with Ellie´s british, unique voice like the most delicious frosting on the cupcake. Cause, you know, without the frosting, cupcakes are sort of bland. So is this music, apart from the lovely guitar intro and the handclaps (handclaps are not usually a turn-on for me, but these are just great). So what makes this so good? The vocals. How the lyrics are timed with the vocals. How extremely well you can relate to the lyrics, no matter if you really can or not. This girl just speaks to you.

 

The next song, “starry eyed”, has a really weird intro with Ellie singing backwards (not naturally, I must stress), switching between the right and left channel, and using various other effects. She holds that up throughout the verces(no, not singing backwards...the last thing I said. Though that would have been wicked.), and this showcases a highlight of this album; Ellie´s use of autotune and other thingies like that for which I have no names. Now for the song, it is very catchy. The synt work is amazing at times, and the chorus is both fun and showcasing of ellie´s extreme talent. The bridge, where she repeats “next thing, we´re touching” is exceptional. Seriously, these two tracks are worth a percahse just for them alone.

 

The third song, “this love(will be your downfall)” is another highlight (yes I know!); mostly a lyrical one. These lyrics are breathtaking, brilliant, and beautiful (omg alliterasion I am awesome). Why? Mostly, I believe, because of the structure; couplets in the form of resigned questions about a relasionship that, well, isn´t really working out. All of these lines are quotable, stand alone. And oh, yeah, the music. That´s very sweet too, with some choirs that, after you get over the initial confusion, are pretty...well, sweet. Other than that, it´s the same cupcake-blandness we´re used to already.

 

As I´m doing this, I´m realising something; this chick put all the good shit in the beginning. Because yes, the fourth track, “under the sheets”, is yet another fabulous one (in d minor, no less! Heil the best key ever!). The repeated “like all the boys before” etcetera section is lovely, and Ellie uses octaves (is there a fancy name for this?) and numerous backing vocals to create a great vocal atmosphere. I also adore the non-Ellie choirs towards the end, letting Ellie go off on a wailing spree together with her partner in crime, outo tune. They work remarkably well, actually.

 

Sooo...the 5th track. You might expect a filler at this point. But no: we are treated to an epic, movie-style intro and a piano/synt driven ballad. Lyrically, this song may very well be the best on the album. Let me show you>

”why don´t you be the artist, and make me out of clay?

Why don´t you be the writer, and deside the words I say?”

Brilliant, I tell you. The song is very much the same all the way, musically speaking, but it´s just plain gorgeous.

 

Finally! A song I am not in love with! ...I think. “everytime you go” is charming, with a brilliant synt pre-chorus (something Ellie seems to be great at), and some well placed “oo-oos”. But something strikes me again; how fascinatingly good Ellie is at delivering lyrics. Once you stop to listen, she grabs your attention and keeps it. But first, you must stop and listen. And with a song like this one, you may never do just that. It´s not a party song  (“under the sheets”) or a ballad (“the writer”), but someplace in between. Try it, though. It has hidden depts. ...or something.

 

Same goes for track # 7, ”wish i stayed”. This one, however, has another of those weird intro sections that are so endearing. I read that this song was her first, and precented in a more singer/songwriter way in the beginning. That might´ve been slightly more interesting than this. Cause yes, Ellie is captivating (that´s the word I´ve been searching for all review!), but at this point you tend to forget to pay attention to her beautiful voice. You need a break.

 

And an acoustic guitar might be exactly what you need. Here you go! ...for about tio seconds, but whatever. This song, which by the way is called “your biggest mistake”, is much like the previous two; except for the fact that I love this one. Why? I...honestly don´t know. It may be for the clever use of auto tune in the chori, or the sweet lyrics, or just that it´s a blast to sing. It´s very hard to tell.

 

“I´ll hold my breath” does something I wish Ellie would do more; it combines acoustic and electronic elements. I like it. Unfortunately, I don´t like many other things. Some lines like “you are the risk I´ll always talk” are clever, but the song is just...I don´t know. With so much of Ellie´s work, you need to focus so bloody hard to hear the seer brilliance that is her lyrics, without an exception. The songs don´t come to you, you need to come to them. Oh, and I just realised the outro reminds me of last christmas. The hell?

 

The last track of the official album, “salt skin”, is so synt it´s crazy. The vocals have that classic reverb, and the entire song sounds very 80s to me; or well, the beginning does. And I really have to read the lyrics to all of these songs, for they are truly epic. So is the final note of this song. Now for the 7(!) bonus tracks, bitches!

 

“lights” was the song that made ellie famous in the us. That is very understandable. Lights is a fun, dancey, and sweet song about...well, I have no idea what it´s about to be honest. But it is sweet, and poppy, and that almost never goes wrong. So yay.

 

From this, we go to one of the best songs on the entire thing: “Human”. Mostly, this is so good during to the amazing singing being done in the verces. The lyrics are gorgeous (no, really?), but the chorus is extremely repetitive and that annoys me considering how fantabulous the verces are. I seriously want to get married to some of the parts of this song, and others are just...meh. I lack a metaphor involving cookies of any kind for this one. Too bad.

 

Now for a quick rundown of the five following songs, because I feel like the most important points have been made a hundred times.

Little dreams: the lyrics are cute as hell, and just tragic enough. Lovely.

Home: the first verce is briliant (and I just realised it probably is spelled “verse”, isn´t it? Shoot me.), and the vocals around 02:40ish are fun, but other than that...I don´t know.

Animal: as usual, very fun and well done vocals. A party song, and a good one at that.

Believe me: yeah yeah, another electronic song with great lyrics. But do take a listen to the very last seconds of this track. The change of voice is just amazing.

Your song: For some reason, Ellie desided to record a piano-based cover of the Elton John song. This then became a single, and famous at that. This made people believe that this was her style. Which, sadly, it was not. And you have to ask yourself: why could it not have been?

 

If i could change one thing, it would be: vary the music a looot more.

My absolute favorite: hm. I think it is “this love”. ...I think...

The biggest strenght: ellies magnificent voice!

The biggest flaw: the bland-ness in a lot of the music.


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