2010 Under Analysis: #1 – Ellie Goulding

For the next ten days, Music Fan’s Mic will be posting about the names likely to forge a successful 12 months from January onwards. We’ll be turning each name inside out, x-raying them and evaluating three things:
- Whether the MFM writers are fans
- Whether [insert artist here] deserves to be successful
- Whether [insert artist here] will be successful

First up is Ellie Goulding, an already mildly familiar face , with a hit single under her belt and critics, producers and the masses already singing their praises.

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Ellie Goulding must prepare herself for a barrage of comparisons with another up-and-coming female artist: Marina and the Diamonds. The reason? Well, because they’re both of the same gender, obviously. Or, the media might decide to buck the trend. Ellie Goulding not only sets herself apart from every female artist under the sun though, she does the same for music in general. Her dramatic, emotional acoustic-based pop songs are inventive and complex, ‘Under The Sheets‘ setting a high standard in its release November 2009. Under the direction of StarSmith, she looks set to release a more electronically based record than one without his guidance and assistance. That might be a bad move…

Obviously a lot of just how good Goulding’s debut album can be will depend on the standard of the songwriting. But if the tracks are synthetically-inclined, that may lead to a pigeonholing of sorts for her sound, something that could have been easily avoided. ‘Under The Sheets’ isn’t a unique pop song. It’s catchy, it has meaning, but it’s not out of this world. It’s clear that Goulding has more cards to play, and perhaps an essentially “safe” move with the debut album, keeping to trends in pop music, wouldn’t be such a bad idea. If, say, she becomes as big a solo artist as Florence Welch has managed to become by appealing to a similar Radio 1 audience, she’ll have the perfect base from which to build on. Experimentation, which quite clearly lies within her, can evolve from there.

Those working around her are already claiming she’s yet to unleash her finest work. The re-recording of ‘Starry Eyed‘, for example, is certainly one to wet the appetite.
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‘Starry Eyed’
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What indisputably makes Goulding is the hushed, gentle yet unquestionably soulful voice of hers. That’s a contrast to star of 2009 Welch – Ellie chooses to use her voice as something of an understated tool. It’s the first thing you notice, no question, but it doesn’t distract you from the rest of the song content by becoming overwhelming.
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mp3: Ellie Goulding – Under The Sheets (Pariah Remix)
mp3: Ellie Goulding – Guns + Horses

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