Ellie Goulding grows up from her sweeter “Lights” sound with “Halcyon,” taking her electronic sound to the next level with darker and more intense songs but still managing to retain the skill of making her electronic music sound like it was made by woodland fairies.
Goulding has had a bit of a transformation since her last album released, not only musically but also personally. She’s shed her good-girl image and even has a new, punky, partly-shaved haircut; a watered-down echo of new boyfriend Skrillex’s.
Skrillex may not only be influencing Goulding’s hairstyles but also her music. The dubstep king may be the reason that the electronic-sugarplum-fairy sound of Goulding’s last album is now tinged with dubstep in “Halcyon,” released on October 9.
The songs that sounded the most Skrillex-influenced were “Figure 8” and “Hanging On,” two of the most electro-based songs on the album. “Figure 8” was on the verge of actually being a mild dubstep song, and “Hanging On’ is a bit tamer, but still delivers dubstep-esque melodies.
“Anything Could Happen” is the big song of “Halcyon,” it was the first single released and, according to iTunes, not only the most popular song on the album but also Ellie Goulding’s most popular song altogether. “Anything Could Happen” is a fun rush of Goulding’s beautiful voice mixed with a fast-paced beat, making for a very dance-worthy and fun song.
Ellie Goulding’s old “Lights” sound shone through in the title track “Halcyon.” The song started off sounding exactly like one of the slower, sweeter songs from her last album, but around the halfway mark dropped off into her new, electronic sound, the song itself representing Goulding’s growth into a more mature new sound.
“Explosions” started off sounding like The Rolling Stones’ “You Can’t Always Get What You Want,” which means it started off with an almost opera-like choir of voices singing in the background. This song clearly had other plans than sounding like a knock-off of something else, because it quickly turned into an explosion of sparkly lyrics.
Not every song on “Halcyon” was an electro-pop confection. “Dead in the Water” had almost no instrumentals, and was a sad song about loss and yearning for a lost love. The song had a cold, echo-y feel to it, and the end is a chilly chorus of voices singing together.
For someone who doesn’t really like electronic music, “Halcyon” was a fun, futuristic-sounding adventure for me. This is a great sophomore album for Ellie Goulding, she seems to have grown out of her pining, whining sound of “Lights” and taken on a powerful new voice fueled by an electronic boost.
