★ ★ ★ ★ 1/2 out of 5
Music critics have been totting English singer/songwriter Ellie Goulding as some sort of brand new pop star the past few months, but the fact is, Goulding has been a dominating pop force since gaining massive recognition with her worldwide hit "Lights" in 2011. She soon followed the success with tracks such as "Anything Could Happen" and "Burn", and easily maintained her indie spark while crossing over to mainstream radio.
Goulding would then journey into dance territory with the likes of Calvin Harris ("I Need Your Love", "Outside") and Zedd ("Fall into the Sky") before finding another smash hit with "Love Me Like You Do", off the Fifty Shades of Grey soundtrack. The artist's unique vocal performances and her tracks' soaring, anthemic supporting production quickly brought the 28-year-old back into the public eye.
For her third studio album, Delirium, Goulding shows no fear and kicks the pop floodgates wide open to allow a bigger, brighter, 80s-like sound infiltrate her indie artist roots. Preceded by the Max Martin-produced, electro-pop inspired "On My Mind", the 15-track effort finds the artist teaming up with today's heavyweights to expand her strengths and reach a wider audience. From the romantic, slightly nauseating personal stories to the darker, mature material, Goulding easily shows improvement, on her way to take over the charts.
Following a glorious and delirious, wailing introduction, the album officially kicks off with "Aftertaste", a shining, disco-tinged effort which would not sound out of place on Goulding's previous album releases. The artist is evident of the ultimate destruction of her relationship, but knows feelings for each other will always remain. With a certain groove in its step, the opening track works as a way of linking Goulding's past to her current career trajectory. It's pure pop with a special touch of indie euphoria.
"Something In The Way You Move" comes out fighting, with a thumping, addictive hook and Goulding's trademark vocal delivery, that validates its future official single treatment. With a unique progression and songwriting filled to the brim with mixed emotion, starstruck adoration mixed with pain and regret, the song is a layered, complex pop banger. "Push me closer, further, break me just enough, your lies always seem so true, there's nothing left for me to lose," she sings as she comes back to the dysfunctional love.
The artist is unbothered, shaking off all her problems, on the electronic, dancehall-influenced "Keep On Dancin'." As one of the most intriguing and engaging cuts on the new album, Goulding slithers around a sexy, infectious, brass-heavy beat that would get any listener up on their feet. Though it may sound reminiscent to the sound of Selena Gomez's Stars Dance, the artist makes it her own with minimal, confident, lyrical content and a controlled and luring vocal delivery. Experimentation at its finest.
Lead single "On My Mind" did its job and has all the pieces of a proper pop smash. The straightforward, in-your-face, electro-pop sound encompasses the listener long before the hook rolls around. The Max Martin-produced effort uses Goulding's delicate vocals to cause evident distinction between the uptempo, radio-tailored backing beat and excels thanks to the honest yet somehow still mysterious songwriting where the artist sings of being distracted by unexpected feelings towards a supposed one-night stand.
Following a string of solid, slightly cohesive efforts, the uptempo, bouncy "Around U" immediately sounds lost and like a blend of different ideas and motivations. While it's great to hear a joy in Goulding's step, the song is rumored to be inspired by her current flame, the track creates a noticeable, unpleasant break in the emotional ride. "Everything that you say, god I wish I had said it first, and forgetting I had ever hurt, your love is pulling me through," the artist sings on the head-over-heels verses of love.
From far too bouncy to perfect, intriguing stomping beats, "Codes" is a splendid account of the artist's frustration within a developing romance. Goulding is over the mixed signals and her lover's inability to fully commit as she delivers an addictive, relatable hook. While the sound of the track may be a new direction for Goulding, one won't help but notice that is has been done before, which does knock it down a few points. With that observation put aside, there's something human and saddening buried within the songwriting.
A strange blend of influences crowd and unfortunately weigh down "Holding On For Life". At times, coming off as an energetic hoedown within a gospel church complete with a backing choir, the track's choppy delivery is effective as Goulding informs listeners of a love on the verge of dying. The supporting production may be too much for the artist, she sounds as if she loses her breathe trying to keep up, but the sentiment and emotion are intact, just as both parties give up and the flame goes dim and burns out.
Produced by go-to pop heavyweight Max Martin, and penned by the rebellious Tove Lo, "Love Me Like You Do" is a beautifully conceived track which highlights what Goulding desires from her lover in the bedroom. It's an intriguing mix of uplifting supporting production and seductive lyrical content that makes the song an instant, memorable offering. The song starts off slow, building up until the chorus, before the final "what are you waiting for?" becomes the crowing moment of the impeccable hit.
The album does veer off the paved road again when "Don't Need Nobody" comes through the speakers, however, this time it sounds appropriately intentional, not accidental. Constructed around a tamed trap/R&B-inspired beat, Goulding refuses to give in to the emptiness and constant loneliness as she finally finds the one she has been waiting for. "But I was hoping you'd see me in a different way, you are the realest thing I've never had to fake," she sings in front of an urgent, fierce, club-ready backing beat.
"Don't Panic" is garnering praise from countless publications for good reason. Just like the opening track, it serves as an appreciated throwback to the artist's bright early days. Goulding reassures her lover that just because the relationship has hit some trouble, that their love isn't playing out like it does on the silver screen, that doesn't mean it's over just yet. There's a sense of pain in the artist's delicate vocal performance, buried underneath a stronger sense of optimism, creating a meaningful war of emotions.
Goulding rarely stumbles, but when she does, she stumbles hard. "We Can't Move To This" is a drowned out mess where the artist barely makes an appearance, failing to compete with the intentional juxtaposition of the production, which sounds as if it's coming from a high school marching band. The songwriting is the highlight on the effort though, both revealing and disheartening as Goulding realizes once again that her love is being extinguished, there's no longer any harmony or in sync motion. She gives up.
When Goulding announced she wanted to make a "big pop album", the inclusion of a song like "Army" was practically inevitable. The over-the-top, soppy, Max Martin-produced beat is a tried and true formula that may sound like a Katy Perry knockoff, but Goulding powers through the light, generic notes to belt out a loving, joyous ode to happiness. "Dark times, you can always find the bright side, I'm amazed by the things you would sacrifice, just to be there for me," the artist sings with a smile on her face for the first time.
Another ode to her musical beginnings comes in the form of the twinkling, innocent "Lost And Found", an interesting listen for lovesick teenagers that blends folk and electronic influences for a cohesive, honest offering. The thumping progression is just the right sound to accompany Goulding's narrative story, detailing the first days of a blossoming relationship. Again, the song may sound like it was thrown into the mix at the last minute, but it carries such a heavy, emotional weight, that no one would really notice or care.
"Devotion" showcases Goulding as the robotic, dance diva that we never knew we needed. Images of the 90s club scene fills the listener's mind as the artist sings of being obsessed with her new found flame, she can't seem to think, or even dream, about anything else. With subtle, acoustic guitar instrumentals filling in the extra space, the complex influences is just another intriguing quality to the overall mood of the love song. Toying with new sounds could be a disaster, but Goulding conquered the challenge.
The standard edition of the album closes out with "Scream It Out", a song that embodies the anthemic overall quality of the new project. "I've always had a thing for silence, but lately I just need a voice I recognize, baby it's perfect timing now to scream it out," Goulding belts during the stadium-ready chorus following a slow build up on the revealing, personal verses. The song shows the artist looking back on her own life, telling herself it's going to be alright, and letting out all the anger and frustration in one, dramatic blow.
Delirium is a complex and layered mix of organized, moody chaos from a indie-pop artist striving to be the powerful, traditional star we've come to associate with the pop genre. Ellie Goulding has always stood out from the crowd, in part to her charming, sensual vocal talents and the ability to make people truly feel something with her music. As she calls on producers who have helped everyone and anyone the last few years construct dominating, radio-ready singles, some of the artist's special spark may have vanished, in exchange for thumping, dance-worthy beats, but in the end she comes out of the ordeal stronger and with a better overall sense of herself as an artist. The included tracks are carried to high levels thanks to mature storytelling and infectious beats that allow Goulding to reflect on her personal and professional past, in order to take a step forward to a brighter future.
Tracks to Hear: "Something In The Way You Move", "Keep On Dancin'", "Don't Need Nobody", "Lost And Found" and "Devotion"
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