Since her breakout hit, “Lights,” in 2010, Ellie Goulding’s indie-dance tracks have consistently topped international music charts. The British singer’s third album, Delirium, demonstrates yet another shift toward EDM. With the help of a wide array of producers and collaborators, Goulding’s simple ballads are transformed into dance-floor anthems.
Delirium begins with a two minute intro of warbling that feels out of place on the record, but the album quickly leads right into ’80s disco track, “Aftertaste,” and the pace barely lets up again.
The 28-year-old’s distinctive quavering soprano voice is infused with backing synthesizers and emphasized with EDM percussion. The songs are well-produced and tightly crafted, but, if like me, you find her thin, breathy vocals oddly annoying, then it can be hard to appreciate much else on the record. Goulding is not a bad singer, but most of the vocal parts are not much more than chanting words over the same note. The result is a record of catchy tracks that sound strikingly similar.
The album also includes international hit, “Love Me Like You Do,” from the infamous film “Fifty Shades of Grey.”This is the only track that doesn’t sound like it belongs on the dance-floor, and it is a welcome break from electro-pop. The swelling instrumentals turn the simplistic melody into a stadium-filling ballad.
All in all, Delirium is not a trainwreck, but it certainly doesn’t add anything new. The album functions as a collection of the most popular themes in EDM and pop music today, with engaging and catchy but instantly forgettable tracks. That being said, I can still guarantee that many of them will be played on the radio nonstop over the next few months.
Grade: C+
