Aside from these two, I have also been listening to some other music that I was going to write about first but thanks to the odd quirks of the Interweb and online sales, I find myself with the luxury of having listened to Ellie’s album before it gets released tomorrow. That means, I’m kinda giving you a pre-view review. A review before the general public should get their hands on it. Almost like a real reviewer!
So without further mindless rambling, this is what I think…
Actually, first a quick intro for all of those that are saying “Alice Ellie? Ellie? Who the f*$£ is Ellie (Goulding)?”. Ellie Goulding is a 23 year old singer/song writer from Hereford. She apparently went to Lady Hawkins’s High School which is a little amusing because that sounds like the artist “Ladyhawk” which she isn’t too dissimilar to (albeit a bit more up tempo), but alas, there is no relation.
She really has only been famous for about 10 minutes but I heard here track being played by Zane Lowe about 6 months ago and her fame has snowballed up to tomorrows release. She topped the BBC’s Sound of 2010 poll and she also won Critics Choice at the BRITS.
For those of you astute enough (or old enough), you will have spotted my not-so-subtle reference to “Pop Musik” by “M”. And that is the theme her. This is proper, high energy pop. Nothing like M’s track thankfully but this is about a pop as you can get. And I’m not trying to suggest that is a bad thing. I’ve listened to this album 3 1/2 times today (don’t ask about the 1/2), and it’s instantly likable. The first track “Guns and Horses” gets straight to business with a strong beat, and a catchy hook. And to be honest, it doesn’t really look back. Every track is a crowd pleaser.
“Under the sheets” is probably the track that you may have heard before as that was here first single and that was out last year. And her latest on is “Starry Eyed” which ups the tempo and is nicely put together with some excellent production from Starsmith… a quick note here, I thought (and am sure I read somewhere) that Ellie’s Album was produced by Mark Ronson but it doesn’t look like he’s been anywhere near it. And although I’ve never heard of Starsmith before now (real name Finlay Dow-Smith), if this is what he’s capable of, I can’t wait to hear some of this other work!
Sorry, back to the script. The album covers the usual relationship topics, including someone accusing her of being ‘on heat’ and a series of poor chaps that can’t quite cut it in the bedroom amongst other things. There’s not the cleverest lyrics but the tunes hold their ground and there’s plenty to enjoy. Some nice acoustic additions from Ekkie’s guitar playing just tops the whole thing off.
So to sum up, this is a smashing debut album. I’m going to give this 4G’s
GGGG
Go and buy it! You won’t be disappointed! Oddly, I was expecting this album to be in the shadow of Marina’s. Will I still feel the same after I’ve listened to them both? You’ll have to tune in to find out. AND, I have a completely random album to talk to you about by a band from Australia… more on that later.
Have fun,
G