After nearly five years of not releasing an album, one of pops queens is back. Ellie Goulding dropped her new album Brightest Blue. The album fulfills the long wait from Goulding, having 18 tracks, she makes up for the gap between Delirium and Brightest Blue
The album is presented in two parts; the first 13 tracks are the thoughtful contemplations that make up Brightest Blue (executively produced by Ellie Goulding & Joe Kearns) and the second part, EG.0, consists of huge pop bangers with collaborators including Lauv, Swae Lee and the late JUICE WRLD. Across the two halves Ellie enlisted a number of writers and producers to help create the finished product, including the likes of Tobias Jesso Jr., Starsmith, ILYA, serpentwithfeet, Patrick Wimberly (of Chairlift) and Jim Eliot amongst others.
Explaining her reasoning behind the double album Ellie says “I’m fascinated by the mechanics of writing a big pop song, but it’s something different from what’s on Brightest Blue. EG.0 is a collection of songs that I’ve written as a somewhat of a character, where it’s literally like my alter ego. I liked the idea of being able to play a really strong powerful woman, which wasn’t the case on Brightest Blue.” Though her voice is confident and passionate on Brightest Blue, it explores her insecurities – but EG.0 is pure bombast. “They really show my craft as a writer because it ain’t easy writing those big American songs – and I’ve learned to be proud of that in a different way.”
This new fourth album displays both Goulding’s boundary pushing and deep emotions more powerfully than ever before.
Some tracks that stand out are “Tides,” with it’s personal message about having to confront a relationship and wanting more. Another song that stands out is “Love I’m Given,” which is about moving on and learning from past mistakes and growing. A surprise song that might be the most epic is “Overture,” which bridges the gap from the first half of the album to the last few songs. When you listen to it, it makes you feel as if you were in a European cathedral and the choir was singing blissfully and at the same time epically.
Take a listen to the new album below.