Ellie Goulding continues to reinvent herself and her sound every time she releases new music. Her newest project, “Delirium”, is no different.
“Lights” being her debut; soft, airy, and dreamy she became this new experimental many were not used to. With soft acoustic guitar strings over synthesizers Goulding mixed pop, folk, and electronic music to create a sound that was uniquely hers.
Her follow up “Halcyon” explores a darker, heavily produced sound, where she references the experiences that broke her down and brought her into a depressive state.
Her reissue “Halcyon Days” offered several new tracks moving more towards the pop direction, it seemed that many of the aspects of her debut album were fading and she was becoming a full on electronic pop artist.
Upon releasing “Delirium” Goulding has found another new sound, moving to a genre that carries samples of nearly every aspect of mainstream pop music.
What makes “Delirium” is the sheer subsets of pop music she experiments with. Ranging from Hip-Hop, Trap, House, to Electronic, Goulding has established herself as a vocalist that can mold and fit into any genre.
“Delirium” begins with a stripped down, chilling, intro, the first Intro Goulding has ever done on an album. It’s dark, moody, and carries this haunting tone that parallels the sound carried in Halcyon, yet immediately that sound shifts.
Her bright raspy vocals are then dominated by a groovy bass as it blends into “Aftertaste.” “Aftertaste” is a track that is almost a homage to Goulding’s “Halcyon” era. In the past Goulding has been known to linger on to past relationships, constantly struggling emotionally with their failures. Here however, this situation is different. Goulding is accepting of the relationships fate, and in “Aftertaste” there’s something more cheerful while she may be clinging on to the last few strands of this failed relationship, the bright tone of the song makes it feel more positive.
The intro of “Delirium” seems to be a last clinging on to the dark forces that had controlled Goulding’s life. In “Aftertaste” the aftertaste of “Halcyon” is present but here Goulding is expelling it. From that point on the album is jettisoned into a fast paced, electrifying, positive tone.
The album is molded as this one work where each song’s mood works off of one another as the album progresses. Each track is a new pop experiment offering completely different elements. They all carry the same themes that surround images of love, friendship, and having a positive outlook.
“Army” “Codes” and “On My Mind” are some of the tracks highest points. Her lead song “On My Mind” is one of the few instances where Goulding takes about heartbreak in “Delirium” however here she accepts it and is powerful. She is not a timid character lingering her constant barrage of fast sticcado words, “You think you know somebody” over the last fleeting choruses make Goulding this proud liberated being, who now is in control of who she is as a person, and as a partner in a relationship.
“Codes” is this energetic sensual cat and mouse style telling her partner blunty to explain where they stand in the relationship. Lines such as “Tell me black and white, why I’m here tonight” and others create this demanding yet sincere, authentic feeling that many can be here. “Codes” is one of Goulding’s strongest songwriting points in her history.
“Army” is a beautiful, powerful, friendship ballad discussing her lifelong best friend, Lissie. The song is magical heartwarming, and honest. It is genuine and humbling, and shows how important friendships can be. Her boisterous vocals clammering at the end makes Goulding’s single voice feel like an entire army. The simple guitar plucking and light piano chords at the beginning is very similar to how songs in her album “Lights” were constructed.
“Army” is not the only track to do so, “Lost and Found” sounds as if it were directly from her original album. “Devotion” carries this value for a few short seconds however, that feeling is taken by the dark club beats immersed throughout it.
Every song on this album seems to be a massive improvement to Gouldings maturity as an artist, whether it is how she addresses her problems, or how these songs are written. Goulding is mastering her craft, and using it to fit perfectly in all of the styles she incorporates.
Yet with all of these styles the beautiful messages given by Goulding can sometime feel lost, and it can be troubling trying to find Goulding. Her songs are so influenced by other artists a person can nearly pinpoint the exact artist it comes from. “Lost and Found” sounds very similar to Neon Trees’ and “I Do What I Love” is so comparable to M.I.A.’s style it’s almost appropriated.
The album moves in so many directs and takes bits and pieces from so many different sounds it’s hard to find her. However, the words that she speaks and engages to her audience are so powerful that this experimental album still creates an extraordinary meaningful pop album.
While “Delirium” is the most experimental it ultimately connects all of her works together. Elements from “Lights” “Halcyon” and “Halcyon Days” are all present. By doing so Goulding connects all of her work together and make her work as an artist complete.
What really makes this album is the progress Goulding has made as an artist. There may be the issues of her experimenting with so many pop, house, hip hop, and electronic albums and fitting them into one album, but Goulding has always been unconventional trying to find her sound. The past work of Goulding has always been longing and depressive one, where she often felt helpless and lonely yet “Delirium” is something new. Goulding describes “Delirium” as, “happy, delirious state.” Goulding begins to take control of her problems, and has found herself and who she is as a person.
“Delirium” while coming across as a simple pop album, with a cohesive mash of genres, is so much more. It evokes this euphoric, optimistic message for her listeners. The messages portrayed across the album are powerful, strong, and most importantly honest. Unlike most pop albums Goulding is creating narratives to inspire others, that address her problems, and has depth. The album is ultimately human it allows others to look at their own lives and possibly begin viewing life with the same new found optimism Goulding has found.
Here’s a great live performance of “Army” a song she recently performed at the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show:
UMass Journalism 300 