Halcyon
| Ellie Goulding
Halcyon
Halcyon is the second studio album by English singer, songwriter Ellie Goulding. It was released on 5 October 2012 by Polydor Records. The album was recorded between 2011 and 2012, during promotion for her debut album, Lights (2010). Goulding worked with several producers on the album, including Jim Eliot, Starsmith, Billboard, Justin Parker, Monsta, Madeon and Mike Spencer, in addition to collaborating with artists such as Tinie Tempah and Calvin Harris. - Wikipedia
Critic Reviews
Show All-
Pitchfork
Those underpinnings always existed beneath the club lights in Goulding's music, but mostly, her ballads are somnolent and give too much rein to her drippier lyrical impulses.
-
Rolling Stone
This deluxe Halcyon, with 10 new tracks, confirms Goulding is doing her best work on clubby tracks with luminescent titles.
-
BBC
As a second coming, Halcyon shows Goulding’s not wanting in ambition, or incapable of conjuring up the odd bit of magic.
-
Consequence of Sound
There’s an overwhelming weight of self-deprecation that moves only slightly faster than her bewildering sense of optimism.
-
The Guardian
In fact, the main flaw of Halcyon is that it occasionally feels a bit too much.
-
New Musical Express Magazine
Quirky-as-usual vocals lazily spliced into factory-standard chart dance.
-
Idolator
Halcyon as a standard release is categorically dark.
-
Telegraph
Ellie Goulding’s voice imprints everything she sings with unique character.
-
Paste Magazine
It’s a step away from the perky, poppy reputation she established with her debut and a leap into more mature territory
-
Digital Spy
It is a series of haunting and stuttering melodies that offered an alternative glance at what pop music can be.
-
Sputnik Music
Halcyon's beautiful aesthetic carries it a long way, but the polish eventually wears off.
-
The Sights and Sounds
Incoming are beautifully crafted electronic pop gems characterized by soft and loud arrangements, dramatic tension, pianos, echos, bleeps, and even harp solos.
-
Diffuser
Ultimately and as a whole, 'Halcyon' is just a bit too timid to ever leave the ground.
-
Ribbit
Moving slightly away from the synth dance pop that her debut album had, to more of an atmospheric feel in what sometimes feels like a fog of wonder and exploration.
-
Billboard
Listening to "Halcyon" can be a demanding, emotionally draining task, though it's worth every step of the journey.
-
Time
In today’s era of pop, where computers find the soul for winning contestants, it’s hard to scoff at Goulding, whose sole problem on her record is being too emotionally redundant.
-
BBM Live Magazine
The lyrics are deeper, and talk more emotionally about lost love and true love, which anyone going through a break up or whom has ever been in love can truly identify with.
-
Red
Ellie Goulding's new album Halcyon successfully bridges the gap between her million-selling debut Lights, and takes a step on from what we've come to expect from the British singer-songwriter.
-
The Collyer Twins
It is blooody BRILLIANT.
-
Pop Crush
She’s more open to darker beats and lyrics, which guide the songs into illuminating new areas.
-
BUST Magazine
Goulding has crafted a perfect masterpiece with pop sensibility—clearly, it’s easy to bypass the sophomore curse when you’re the valedictorian.
-
The Scotsman
It’s a whooping, triumphant pop record bursting with confidence.
-
Entertainment
Goulding has moved into a whole new sonic dimension that will ensure her chart success continues full-speed ahead.
-
Hit the Floor Magainze
Ultimately, Ellie’s sophomore album shows growth and diversity.
-
Express
The track Anything Could Happen on this second album says it all so be ready for whatever's thrown at you.
-
Chicago Tribune
Goulding makes music that scans as “cool” in a generic way: slightly moody synth-pop with nods to trends in electronic music.
-
QRO Magazine
Halcyon is a commendable second studio album by Ellie Goulding.
-
Mic
Ellie Goulding is conquering the music industry. Nothing is standing in her way, and any obstacles that were before her will disappear with the release of Halcyon.
-
Contact Music
Halcyon is a schizophrenic listen, and Goulding is an artist in a tug of war about just who she really is.
-
Entertainment Weekly
Be forewarned: There are harp solos, digitally tweaked cyborg harmonies, and at least one tribute to bodily fluids.
-
News Day
Ellie Goulding's sophomore album Halcyon is what fashionistas would call "on trend."
-
Music Baeble
There is no weak point throughout this album filled with desperately desolate lyrics.
-
Yuppee
She has also managed to incorporate a more modern, dance style into her tracks whilst still backing them up with incredible vocals
-
Nothing But Hope And Passion
From the polite girl next door to a dance-pop queen. It seems like Ellie Goulding changes her whole image.
-
Drunken Werewolf
Halcyon is a more electro-pop yet a slightly darker sounding album than Lights.
-
USA Today
Her tone, balanced between girlish and womanly, is appealing, as is her clear intent to be an Artist.
-
She Knows
Ellie Goulding proves to be an eclectic powerhouse with her latest album.
-
The Arts Desk
Since when was it a good idea to warble like Kate Bush in a wind machine?
-
Notable Dance
The album is chock full of funky little tidbits that make songs that might not be instant hits crackle with electricity instead.
-
NZ Herald
Goulding's strength is her voice, rich with emotion, tinged with vulnerability.
-
Collide
Goulding’s Halcyon is calming and trance-like, but the album’s serenity has an edge
-
The Useless Critic
Her vocals are gutsy and occasionally aggressive, and her lyrics are deeper and even more personal.
-
Into The Crowd Magazine
With an ever-growing audience and such a polished second wave of material there’s little to stop this album being one of the biggest of the next 12 months.
-
ShufflePlay
What was once rainbows and unicorns is now a black skirt with a cocktail in one hand and a microphone in the other.
-
CNN
Her voice mates gorgeously with electronics, swirling around itself on the title track, morphing through synthscapes.
-
Loco Mag
Halcyon shows a more mature artist, and shows that Ellie is here to stay.
-
The Washington Post
Halcyon” divides itself between sweeping love ballads and more tentative, electro-heavy dance tracks.
-
The Edge
After a while it sadly becomes annoying and unnecessary.
-
Teen Ink
Be very careful. Ellie Goulding is a potentially fatal drug, and her most powerful side effect is halcyon.
-
Under The Gun Review
While not exactly a casualty of sophomore album syndrome, it seems fair to say that Ellie Goulding hasn’t done herself justice with this record.
-
Brief Report
it’s a whooping, triumphant pop record bursting with confidence.
-
Easy Street Records
It's rare to find an artist that can write a song that can lullaby you to sleep, and also write a song that wakes you up in the morning, excited for the day.
-
The Untz
Halcyon strays from her previous indie folk feel, yet provides listeners with introspective tunes that perfectly balance bliss, heartache, and, most importantly, acceptance.
-
Fresh New Tracks
In all, Ellie may have moved in a more self consciously artistic direction on Halcyon, but her ability to weave catchy, interesting melodies with lush electronic arrangements is as on display as ever.
-
Motion Select
There are a few songs that you can groove to and sing along with her.
-
Aesthetic Magazine
The English pop darling has strayed far from her upbeat identity to create an album of heartbreaking sounds.
-
The Owl Magazine
Ellie’s distinctive voice swoops and soars.
-
Blare Magazine
The record nurtures a brood of styles and convinces authenticity to implode as the 25-year-old’s voice holds a tendency to kill softly from end to end.
-
Concrete
The majority of the album has a kind of new age/trance-like feel, with each track having a distinct stylistic influence from the likes of dubstep, gospel, and the Middle East, giving Halcyon a multi-cultural, worldly atmosphere.
-
The Harvard Crimson
Despite its numerous strengths, however, Halcyon is not without significant flaws.
Rate This Album and Leave Your Comments