Sunday, January 5, 2014

Goodness Gracious | Ellie Goulding

Rating: ★★★★☆

A new year has marked a new single for Ellie Goulding! Last year, Halcyon Days spawned one successful single in the United States ("Burn," which is still sitting in the Top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100), and two massive singles across the United Kingdom ("Burn," as well as "How Long Will I Love You," which was chosen as the official song of the BBC Children in Need efforts). Now, she is continuing her Halcyon Days campaign with "Goodness Gracious."

I reviewed Halcyon Days when it was first released in August, but I never touched on "Goodness Gracious" on an in-depth scale. Now that I have been listening to it for months now, I can do it even more justice while going over it.

The song carries a really up-beat vibe, similar to the one found in "Burn," but sounds more experimental than the lead single from Halcyon Days. It's definitely not the edgiest cut from the album, but it's a great introduction to the heavier electronic productions of most of Goulding's recent material. Overall, the song's production just makes me happy, though. I love to listen to "Goodness Gracious" on the way to school in the morning when I'm really tired, because it always perks me up and just puts me in an optimistic mood.

Vocally, the song is on par with the rest of Goulding's work; they're great. I especially love the harmonies in the pre-chorus while Goulding sings "I keep calling your name / I want to hold you close / But I never want to feel ashamed / So I keep calling at night / I want to hold you close / I just never want to hold you tight." 


The music video, which was just released today, has to be one of my favorites from Goulding. The glowing paint, the bright lights, the wide arrange of colors everywhere... It helps promote the happy aura of the song that I originally sensed. All of the inverted colors remind me of the pop art of Andy Warhol, which is always fantastic. It's doesn't have big dance breaks or intense story lines or any hidden meanings, but it is, simply put, a fun music video. Sometimes it's better to throw it back to the basics, which is something Goulding does here.

If "Burn" was able to break the Top 20 in the United States, and hit the number one spot in the United Kingdom, "Goodness Gracious" should have no problems going further, especially in the latter country where she is most popular. The song is much better than "Burn," and steps a bit further out of the safe zone for Goulding than before. I can only hope that it continues her success.

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