British indie/electronica pop is back with Ellie Goulding’s new release. The first standout track comes from “My Blood” which features tribal elements, soaring vocals and melodic riffs. “Only You” gives the ballad electronica songs a break, pumping up the piano and giving the record more of a straight pop-soul feel. The title track is an inspirational one that’s airy and uplifting.
“Figure 8″ fits perfectly as a college party song and would lend itself well to radio. “Hanging On” is like a contrast between darkness and light, the falsetto vocals of Ellie contrasting with the heaviness of the beat. The ballad “Explosions” is the most straight-forward of all the songs; simplistic with harmonies and instrumentation fitting of a movie soundtrack. ”Atlantis” starts off small and then blooms in the chorus with synths and chants. “Dead in the Water”, a song that seems to be floating, helps to close the album before a “Hanging On” remix that serves as a sort of reprise.
Ellie describes the album as “a journey from dark into light”. It’s an accurate description, as not only does the singing get lighter but the music behind it as well as the album progresses. The LP is classified as dream pop and it should be. If dreams had background music, this would definitely be it.