Ellie Goulding – Brightest Blue (2020)

August 29, 2020

Here we have Ellie Goulding’s fourth studio album, the number one selling Brightest Blue.

So, I believe the premise of this record is that it is split into two sides; two parts – one being the very sort of sound we started seeing Ellie creep into around the time of her Halcyon record and the latter part a series of collabs with various sort of EDM artists (all of which I’d never heard of prior to which possibly makes me feel really old, I’m not sure). So, side one is the straight up album, Brightest Blue, where it seems the other half is referred to as Eg.O.

The Brightest Blue and full fresh album side to this bunch of songs is great though, with as I say some quite Halcyon-era sounding tracks as well as some kind of slower numbers inside (such as “New Height”). It’s really enjoyable though, and I can’t help going back to the track “Love I’m Given”, with its powerful chorus and the cool sounding vocal melody that hides beneath it all. Some really stand out stuff here and “Love I’m Given” is definitely one, as is “How Deep Is Too Deep” and one of the albums leading tracks, “Power”.

The other half I’ll be honest just generally isn’t really my thing, but that’s not to say it isn’t good however; “Hate Me” ft Juice WRLD perhaps being my favourite out of the bunch if I were to pick, I just sort of feel it just steers far off the usual sort of sound that I’ve come to enjoy from Ellie Goulding when it gets to these tracks, and I can’t really see myself revisiting this side to the record as I would the tracks before it, with respect. Maybe it would have been better as a completely separate release? I’m unsure, but then that aside though, you cannot argue that this artist isn’t dishing out the content here and providing a real full package.

Overall though, positive vibes towards, and an enjoyable and welcome release.