Album Review: Ellie Goulding – Halycon Days
3 min read
The world can’t get enough of Ellie Goulding. Her 2012 album Halycon went platinum and her latest single Burn is currently number one in the UK charts. She’s also currently touring with Bruno Mars in the US, and coming home to her native UK for a nationwide tour.
Goulding is topping this all off by releasing a remastered edition of Halycon, called Halycon Days this month. Halycon Days will have a number of new tracks, including Burn, as well as collaborations with Madeon and DJ Fresh.
The 26-year-old’s debut album Lights in 2010 propelled her to stardom. It debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart, and her rendition of Elton John’s Your Song on the album was so popular, she played it at the wedding reception of Prince William and Kate Middleton. Her other big single Lights was on the Billboard Hot 100 for 33 weeks, and went triple platinum. Goulding’s second album Halcyon had the lead single Anything Could Happen, which lent itself to a number of TV trailers around the world (Girls, New Girl, Offspring).
With a whopping 28 tracks, Halycon Days is an album to be reckoned with. It’s easy to get caught in the flow of this album, and you certainly get your money’s worth of Goulding. The new tracks have a bolder, fun feel about them, and according to Goulding, this is due to Halycon originally being more of a breakup album.
Goulding’s knack for creating songs which make you feel something is showcased on the album. A highlight is the new edition Hearts Without Chains, a ballad about healing. There is also How Long Will I Love You a sweet love song set to appear in the soundtrack of upcoming rom-com About Time, a Richard Curtis film.
Some other highlights include her collaborations. She teams up with French house producer Madeon for Stay Awake, a dance track in the same vein as Burn. The song features mild drum & bass elements with fast break beats and some very sexy breakdowns.
Goulding also teams up with British drum & bass producer DJ Fresh for Flashlight. This track amps up the tempo again from Stay Awake, and is a super rhythmic dance experience.
Another solid track is her collaboration with Tinie Tempah, who adds his sound to Halycon’s original track Hanging On, also on the album. The two songs start similarly, but Tinie Tempah comes in later in the new track with some intense and emotive rap sequences to increase the feeling of the song.
Goulding also recorded a cover of Alt-J’s Tessellate which brings an eerie quality to the already pensive alternative track.
Halycon Days also provides all her singles from the last couple of years including Burn, Anything Could Happen, Lights and I Need Your Love, her chart-topping collaboration with Calvin Harris.
There’s just so much variety on the album, from angelic ballads to pulsing dance songs and throbbing drum & bass tracks. If you didn’t purchase Halycon, there’d be no doubt you should pick up this remastering. If you did, it’s worth looking into just for the ride of the 28-track experience.
Buy ‘Ellie Goulding – Halycon Days’ from Amazon
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