It’s not normally the way new albums are pitched these days, but there’s definitely something appealing about Ellie Goulding billing her fifth album as her “least personal” so far. For even the most untouchable A-listers, this has been the age of the overshare.
Adele included a voice recording of her trying to explain her marriage break-up to her young son on her last album. Kendrick Lamar went on an unflinchingly honest therapy journey on Mr Morale & the Big Steppers. And who could forget Beyoncé getting her nails dirty digging through her husband Jay-Z’s unfaithfulness on Lemonade?
But Queen Bey ditched all that for the dancefloor on Renaissance last year, and here you’ll have to wait until the ninth song out of 11 for anything that might qualify as a contemplative slowie. Goulding’s long history of sales success faltered somewhat with her last album, Brightest Blue, in 2020 – an album that experimented by corralling the big pop singles in a separate section from the less emphatic main collection, and was held back by her inability to tour during the pandemic. This time she sounds hungry to reactivate her hit rate, racing through euphoric three-minute banger after banger on songs that are so catchy it’s easy to sing along by the second chorus.
She could have gone a bit political on the new songs if she’d fancied it. Outside of music she’s been a campaigner on homelessness issues, she’s a UN Goodwill Ambassador on climate, and last summer she visited Ukraine as a guest of President Zelensky. Instead, there are only good vibes here. A song like Love Goes On could feel superficial, or like we’ve heard it all before: “Suddenly I see the world differently/Every time you put your arms around me, it feels like forever,” she sings, but the production is so light and free-flowing, the groove so smooth, that it’s entirely pleasant company. Cure For Love understands exactly how to tee up a whizzy chorus and whack it at the horizon.
It looks like she’ll reach number one in the singles top 40 today with Miracle, her third Calvin Harris collaboration, lending her gossamer voice to his thunking beats once again. That song isn’t even included here but even so, it never feels like Higher Than Heaven is lacking chart potential. Who cares if we are no wiser about her marriage or her toddler after hearing these songs? Sometimes a good reason to dance is enough.
