Review: Bright Lights, sort of Revisited

 Note: For more information, see here.
(Bright) Lights, Ellie Goulding (2010)

I don't know whether to be disappointed or enthused. Ms. Goulding joins a long line of artists who, for whatever reason, decide that instead of releasing their new material on a new album, simply tack it onto a rerelease. Admittedly this was probably Polyor's decision and not hers, but it does make buying such an album a little less cost-effective than one really wants. (I'm using Spotify to review it, for anyone wondering.)
     Now that little tirade is out of the way, we have to look at the seven new tracks that constitute this rerelease, with the added burdon of context. I'm glad that Goulding has taken her six months to really fine-tune her style to create catchy, interesting pop melodies that still hold as much brilliant vocal work as I've come to expect from her. The only problem I have is that she seems to be now aiming towards a more mass-market audience, perhaps in reaction to her poor chart performance. Not that this is a necessarily a bad thing, of course, but at least two of these seven tracks just collapsed into high-tempo club music that really stuck out in Goulding's otherwise recreative ouvre.
     Now, the original Lights had a few varying styles, but the sudden quality/genre shift provided by the new material marks a clear distinction between that and Bright Lights. Of note is her cover of "Your Song", which I quickly covered a while ago, which is the only ballad on the album that isn't sprayed with techno bullshit, and stands out as superior because of it. Now, for the first time, she's also produced a song that I just can't listen to, "Animal", which is the aforementioned high-tempo fuckfest.
     Overall, the new tracks on Bright Lights are of generally higher quality than the ones on the core of her fledgling first album, but none of them really justify buying the first ten singles again. Goulding is starting to show her new experience with music, but is drifting into the world of cheaply produced trash-pop that I just can't abide. It's really up to you whether you want to buy this rerelease; if you're not too sure, I'd leave it. You're not missing much and if it's just Your Song you want, there are many other sources.

Thanks.

P.S. A Happy Birthday to Asher Ahmed, who is 15 tommorrow! If anyone else has any more birthday requests, feel free to mention them on the Audenshaw Reviews Facebook Page.