Best Bits: Ellie Goulding - Halcyon

Ellie Goulding is one of the few female artists that I actually listen to. This is a bit depressing, as I feel that, as a female, I should really be listening to more women music artists. The fact is that there are not that many within the indie/alternative genre that I actually like. Muh. Ahh well, we'll get there one day.

Back to Ellie. She's a great example of a girl who has done it on her own, something hard to come by these days. Her first album was so awesome that she brought out a second version with a couple more tracks on. The first version, Lights, came out in February 2010, and went straight into the charts at number one. In the US, it stayed around the 100 mark on their Billboard chart until July of this year (2012) when it jumped straight up to number one. As of June this year, it has sold over 1.3 million copies. Fair play to ya, Ellie.

Courtesy of: http://www.flickr.com/photos/nrk-p3/4746161317/in/photostream/

This album came out at the beginning of October this year, and went into the charts at number two. She's still got it! I had a listen, and I've got to say I do really like it. It's all pretty solid. However, there were only three stand out tracks for me, so I thought instead of boring you by going through all the songs and not having much to say about every single track, I'd do a condensed version, and give you my top 3.


My Blood
This is the second track on the album. It has a kind of marching drum beat, a repeated guitar melody and Ellie's Ahhs over the top to begin with. In the first verse she talks about blood quite a bit, and this, along with the lyrics "caught in the crossfire" combined with this marching rhythm gives an almost colonial feel to the song. There's also talk of sailing, which makes me think this even more.

"That feeling that doesn't go away just did
And I walked a thousand miles to prove it
And I'm caught in the crossfire of my own thoughts
The colour of my blood is all I see on the rocks
As you sail from me"

The bridge bit ["Alarms will ring for eternity"] drops the drum beat, and she kind of sings in Hmms in a triad. In this part, she's kind of saying that she will soon be rid of something, will soon be freed. She also mentions being in chains, as though she's a prisoner. Another pointer towards this kind of war feel.

"Alarms will ring for eternity
The waves will break every chain on me
My bones will bleach
My flesh will flee
So help my lifeless frame breathe"

The chorus kind of bursts straight in, and it's really quite emotional:

"And God knows I'm not dying but I breathe now
And God knows it's the only way to heal now
With all the blood I lost with you
It drowns the love I thought I knew"

The lyrics are quite intense and fierce. It's something that a lot of people can relate to, trying to get over someone without it being too painful. On the lines "With all the blood I lost with you/It drowns the love I thought I knew" she sings some beautiful harmonies over the top of the melody; really lovely. The next verse comes straight in, and again has the war-ish drums. She's again talking about gunfire and bullets and blood, again with the war theme.

"The lost dreams I buried in my sleep for him
And this was the ecstasy of love forgotten
And I'm thrown in the gunfire of empty bullets
And my blood is all I see
As you steal my soul from me"

The chorus then comes through again, and after this there's about 4 bars of the Ohhs from the beginning, but with more voices this time. The second two have the marching drum beat. This continues again with an arpeggic piano melody over the top. The chorus then plays through twice, ending in the Hmms from the chorus. Very nice :)

                                                   

Halcyon

The title track of the album. And quite rightly too. Have a listen and you'll see why. It starts off with a simple guitar rhythm, a simple drum beat and what I THINK could be a piano melody with an echo effect put on. These are indeed quite minimal in terms of movement or whatever, but incredibly effective. And a little bit ethereal. This plays through again, and this time Ellie's vocals kind of appear out of the ether that she's created. She sings it really quite softly, conveying this raw emotional feel, as though she means everything she's saying.

"I know it's not over, baby I worked this out for sure

It's gonna be colder, now you've forced open the door

I know you better than I ever have before

I know you...

I know you're a fighter, but you never fought for me 

When I was a shelter, so you're not heading home to me 

We could be closer, we could be closer 

We could be..." 

The bridge bit of the song is just the simple guitar melody with a few effects in the background. She puts this lovely harmony over the top that is really graceful. The lyrics are lovely, a lot of people will be able to relate to the second to last line: 

"When it's just us, you show me what it feels like to be lonely 

You show me what it feels like to be lost 

I take your hand for you to let it go 

Let it go, let it go, let it go" 

It's as though she's been putting in all the effort, and the other person is giving nothing back. This bridge bit is repeated with a beat in the background which gives it a bit more oomph. You now get the feeling that this is really going somewhere. The chorus bursts straight through everything else which is quite refreshing. All she says throughout the whole chorus is "It's gonna be better", and you can tell that she fully means it. The momentum of the chorus kind of disperses in the run up to the next verse: 

"We'll take a long walk, down the alley of these houses 

And we'll talk, see what conversation rouses 

When we're alone 

When we're alone 

It could be home" 

In comparison to the last verse, it's about half the size. It feels as though the chorus has only just finished before the bridge comes around again. The chorus is just made up of lovely chords that complement each other beautifully. This whole song is just very graceful and elegant. It kind of disperses again after the chorus and fades out. Brilliant. 

Figure 8 

I was first introduced to this song by my housemate Carmen, and I loved it straight away. On subsequent listenings, I have since realised that I actually love the chorus, and the verses are just there to separate a bit space out between them all. That's my opinion anyway. Please let me know if you disagree, there's a comment box at the bottom of this post... So this song starts off with some electronically enhanced Yeahs for 4 bars or so. I think there's a harp in the background as well. This plays through again, but this time there's some light drumming in the background. The verse then comes in: 

"Breathe your smoke into my lungs 

In the back of a car with you I stare into the sun 

Still not too old to die young 

But lovers hold on to everything 

And lovers hold on to anything" 

I think those last two lines really stand out. The chorus has a slightly dubstep-ish drop at the start, which sounds really good. This is no doubt some slight influence from Ellie's ex-boyfriend, music producer Skrillex, aka Sonny Moore of the band From First To Last. It does actually sound pretty good. The vocals are really punchy, as though she's getting pretty irritated by this person's persistent letting her down. There's a syncopated beat in the background which sounds awesome as well. 

"I chase your love around a figure 8 

I need you more than I can take 

You promised forever and a day 

And then you take it all away (Then you take it all away)" 

Again, the verse is just kind of the song slowing down after the ferocity of the chorus: 

"Place a kiss upon my cheekbone 

Then you vanish me, I'm buried in the snow 

But something tells me I'm not alone 

But lovers hold on to everything 

And lovers hold on to anything" 

The chorus comes around again, and you can really feel the emotion coming through at the injustice of this person who can't make up their mind. There's a breakdown after this, made up of those brilliant two lines from before: "But lovers hold on to everything/And lovers hold on to anything". The harp from before is also playing over the top of this. It's very pretty. This plays through twice. It then plays through twice again, but this time it has string instruments playing over the top, a bit more bass and the harp still, as though it's building up. The last chorus then bursts in, and it's even more punchy than before; more harmonies and more electronic sounds. The song ends as Goulding is still singing the "Away" from the chorus. 

 And with that, here ends the last blog of 2012. I hope you've enjoyed this year as much as I have, and are looking forward to the next one. :)