Her breathy voice, knack for a catchy pop hook and enjoyment of dabbling in EDM — Ellie Goulding’s signature attributes are present and correct on her first album in five years. But this time around, there’s a confidence in her vocals and songwriting that wasn’t always there before.
Goulding revels in writing about heartbreak, effortlessly skewering an ex on opener Start (“I could call a truce with anyone but you”) and taking aim again on How Deep is Too Deep?, a brutal, if catchy and powerful, examination of an intense but perhaps one-sided relationship.
There are interludes aplenty, from the empowering Cyan to Wine Drunk, an autotune-heavy homage to Imogen Heap. Both will surely form the basis of emotive pauses in Goulding’s next live tour in April.
Clocking in at a mammoth 18 tracks, Brightest Blue is double-sided, and while the meaning of this is somewhat lost in the age of streaming, an extravagant overture makes the switch to EG.0, as the second half is dubbed, clear.
Her rebellious alter ego then takes the reins, concluding the record with collaborative club hits featuring US acts including EDM titan Diplo, late rapper Juice Wrld and acclaimed songwriter blackbear.
