Ellie Goulding Delirium
Ellie Goulding has said that Delirium is her “big pop album,” and while she’s had big pop hits before (“Lights,” “Anything Could Happen,” “Burn”), Delirium indeed sounds like a significant step in her evolution as a pop star. Unfortunately, that means it’s fairly generic, with little of the offbeat charm that made Goulding stand out when she debuted as a club-friendly singer-songwriter in 2009.
Although she shares writing credit on all but one of the album’s songs, it’s the typical phalanx of writers and producers from the pop-industrial complex (Greg Kurstin, Max Martin, Ryan Tedder, etc.) who make the biggest mark. Those people help Delirium make up in catchy hooks what it lacks in personality. Songs like “Something in the Way You Move,” “Codes” and lead single “On My Mind” are tailor-made for maximum radio and club airplay, and Goulding’s ethereal voice melds well with the slinky synths and driving beats.
That voice, more than the bland lyrics and the safe musical arrangements, is what makes these songs shine. Goulding can invest interchangeable sentiments about good times and pretty people with a bit of mystery. Any more than that has been sacrificed for the sake of big pop.
