Ellie Goulding - Delirium

Ellie Goulding
Delirium
2015

Ellie Goulding always had a sense bout her that was different from other pop stars. She was able to sing differently and go places that they just were not. That made her perfect for the folk and EDM scenes that she would occasionally pop up in. With Delirium however she is making a move towards a more mainstream sound with mixed results. There are times on this record where she does sound great and the song fits her perfectly like "Love Me Like You Do". But the majority of the record is just fluff that never seems to go anywhere or add anything to the conversation. The uniqueness of her voice begs for her to make more interesting song selections, but this record just does not have those. "Burn", "Lights" and "Anything Could Happen" (three of her biggest hits) were not mainstream and thus set her apart from just another voice over and EDM track. This record does not have those moments. The same old ideas of love, independence and loss come into this album, but there is absolutely no heart behind them, they just kind of exist.

To say that Ellie deserves better may be going a bit far, but her voice is so great and unlike anything else out there that you would expect something great. Delirium may deliver on anthems that a group of gals can sing together in a circle, but even on that level these songs do not work great. "Scream It Out" is an all out attempt at creating an anthem, but it comes across as contrived and why would we waste our time. The thing you are left with when listening to Delirium is that Ellie Goulding definitly has something, and something special at that, however it should not be in the top 40 pop scene. She needs to make her own path different from the Gomez's and Lovato's. A miss fire in her career but this will not be the last we hear from young miss Goulding.

5 out of 10