Album Review: Ellie Goulding - 'Higher than Heaven'
Ellie Goulding releases her fifth studio album in eco-friendly style and repeats her collaboration with Calvin Harris.
Ellie Goulding is finally back with her fifth studio album “Higher Than Heaven”. After 3 years focusing on writing and promoting “Fitter. Calmer. Stronger.”, her first book, creating a beverage company named Served and, of course, being a mom (she gave birth to Arthur, her first child, in 2021), she is ready to hit the top of the charts once again.
For those who followed her career from “Lights” (2010) to her latest “Brightest Blue”, there is a lot to love, and a lot of changes in her lyrics and musical style. The Deluxe version of “Higher Than Heaven” has 16 tracks that navigate between pop, dance and 80’s references.
For the forthcoming album, Ellie had a selection of the finest music producers from the past decade: Greg Kurstin (Sia, Maggie Rogers, Elton John), Jessie Shatkin (Charli XCX, Years & Years), Koz (Sam Ryder, Madonna, Dua Lipa) and Andrew Wells (Halsey, Yungblud).
The first track released is “By the End of the Night”, which came out right after “Miracle”, a feature with Calvin Harris, who also worked with her in “I Need Your Love” and “Outside”, two of the singer’s greatest hits. No surprise that “Miracle” entered the UK Official Chart at #3 and is currently the #1 hit in iTunes and Spotify UK charts.
“By the end of the night” has a mix of everything fans love about Ellie’s work: dance beat, romantic lyrics and her unique vocals. “I feel like we’ve all been through such a lot over the last few years, we’re still processing everything. I don’t know if it’s just me but I feel like we need music that uplifts us and makes us feel good and that’s exactly how I feel about ‘By The End Of The Night’. It gives me a sense of euphoric, sensual escape, like being on a dancefloor on another planet… something that was definitely appealing back in the late 80’s… where this track could have easily come from!”, Ellie explains.
“Midnight Dreams”, the opening track for the new album, is produced by KOZ and The 23rd.
If in “Brightest Blue” the singer only released three singles, it feels like it will be hard for her to chose which tracks to promote, as they all have something in particular with a potential to be a hit on the dancefloor, such as “Like a Saviour”, “Cure for Love” and “How Long”, which has a more latin and slow beat, produced by watt (Shawn Mendez, Camila Cabello, Kygo) and Happy Perez (Camila Cabello, Post Malone).
Before the official album release, she shared with the fans “Love Goes On”, “Higher than Heaven” and “Easy Lover”, featuring Big Sean.
She also recorded an Amazon Prime special on the world famous botanical garden, Kew Gardens, in London. She performs her greatest hits and also talked about her relationship as an environmental activist.
Ellie’s concern with the future of the planet is present in how “Higher Than Heaven” will be released, as she specifies on her official website. The CD sleeve is made with FSC-certified card and renewable plant-based wrap; the vinyl is made using recycled board and a recycled and recyclable bag and even a ECO-MIX vinyl is available made of 100% recycled colour compound that would’ve otherwise been discarded. Wherever possible each element of the packaging material is manufactured using 100% recycled card and reduced plastic use.
Her journey in music has allowed her to experiment different styles, from starting out as an indie-pop singer to performing in the biggest festivals around the world, with “Higher Than Heaven” she shows a more powerful voice than ever.
The album will be released on April 7th and Ellie has announced a UK and European tour set to happen in October.
Words by Gabriela Simionato
