Monday, February 15, 2010

lights out

There's a lot riding on the release of "Lights", the debut longplayer from fresh-faced, Brit warbler, Ellie Goulding. It's possibly one of the best pop albums of the year if one takes into account all the tracks that have been floating about over the last twelve months.

Some have made the cut. Others, like "Fighter Plane", the b-side of the limited edition 7" single of "Under The Sheets" released on the Neon Gold label, have been kicked to the curb for the time being.

The sleeve for "Lights" is a bit obvious, IMHO. Lovely photo. Nicely retouched. Very stylized. It reminds me of a fashion ad.

Here's the full, official tracklisting.

1. Guns And Horses
2. Starry Eyed
3. This Love (Will Be Your Downfall)
4. Under The Sheets
5. The Writer
6. Every Time You Go
7. Wish I Stayed
8. Your Biggest Mistake
9. I'll Hold My Breath
10. Salt Skin

By now, we're used to different bonus tracks across various, online, digital storefronts. So far, only the song, "Lights", has been revealed as an extra goody if you purchase the full length album on iTunes. Fire up the torrents!

And here's the complementary sleeve for lead single, "Starry Eyed". Another light show, another page from a swanky, ski wear fashion catalog. I sense a little photo slimming, too. It's very Paula Abdul circa "Promise Of A New Day". Does the label think she's a little too thick in the waistline for the general public? I think she's a natural beauty who doesn't really need that kind of retouching.

The physical CD single for "Starry Eyed" will feature three versions of the song including the epic Russ Chimes remix. Smart move!

All eyes are on Ellie!

8 comments:

  1. I'm tentatively interested in Ellie. Like la Roux she's getting a lot of buzz but essentially passing me by in how interested I am in it :/ Not sure why that happens with me! Still sometimes (like Florence + The Machine) I'm totally won over later in the game (ditto Paloma Faith)... so we'll see!!

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  2. @Paul - Same here. I tend to distance myself from the hype and see how the artist grows on me without all the glowing reviews, column inches and TV appearances.

    I've had a chance to develop a relationship with Ellie's music over the last nine months. So I know more about her sound and songs way in front of the album. This wasn't the case for me with La Roux, et al.

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  3. A Source tells me This Love is NOT going to be a single. Did I tell you that already?

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  4. Horrible nasty font but, apart from this and the fact that her face looks like it has been cut & pasted in with scissors and Copydex on the blue one, the covers look quite good.

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  5. @Jams - Agreed! The font is very 70s. Seems to be a trend. Check out the font on the sleeve of the new Tracey Thorn album.

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  6. It's worse; it's people in the 2010s trying to be what the 70s thought the 20s were like.

    Love Ms. Thorn's cover, except the Ts look like they've got scrota.

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  7. I hate iTunes exclusive tracks. They should be available as individual purchase options, not with the entire album. Those of us who like a physical format don't want to pay twice.

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  8. I am currently on a TOTAL Ellie trip!

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