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Ellie Goulding perfected indie pop with her debut album Lights and moved to EDM with Halcyon. Now, Delirium is an “experiment, to make a big pop album.” It certainly is big: the full deluxe edition is a staggering twenty-five tracks long. Despite having so many songs in which to showcase new sounds, the major problem lies in the album’s failure to do so. The worst part is that like many artists before her, turning to pop also means losing personality.
The cinematic Intro seems to signal the beginning of something interesting, despite the vocals sounding suspiciously unlike Goulding. However, this atmosphere doesn’t last. Far too many of the tracks sound like poor imitations of previous pop hits. Don’t Panic, Codes, and On My Mind are the only songs that stand out as being particularly fun—and only just about. However, anyone could be singing them and they’d still have the same mediocre impact. Then there are the majority of songs which are forgettable, and some that are just painful (Winner, The Greatest, Around U—it seems like happy love songs aren’t her strong point).
We Can’t Move To This and I Do What I Love are the few tracks when Goulding steps outside the pop-lite comfort zone. Although the latter sounds like a bad knockoff of M.I.A., there’s still bravery in the attempt. These tracks at least stand out as experimental and interesting.
Her vocals have always made her distinct—whether you love or hate it, her folky timbre is unusual. However, her voice struggles to hold its own on some of the louder songs, where overproduction takes over. She’s also proven her lyrics can be poignant, but that was before up to four co-writers joined her for Delirium. This has undoubtedly smothered her as clichés litter the album.
Halfway through, Goulding is reminiscent of the Lights era on Army and Lost and Found. This self-doubt is what is holding her back throughout: she plays it far too safe. In getting caught in the pop-transition trap, Goulding’s music has changed to become more generic, losing previous listeners and not standing out enough to gain new ones.
