This blog has previously questioned whether there’s anything amazing enough about Ellie Goulding’s music to really merit excitement. It seems my opinion’s a minority one, though: she’s getting regular placements on Elbows‘ list of the blog’s most-discussed artists and has been namechecked by the cool cats at Rough Trade. A plug in Metro must be just around the corner.
However, listening to Ellie’s first single, Under The Sheets, I’m even more skeptical. A slick journey through well-placed choruses, tidy verses and eventual euphoria, this is an undoubtedly catchy tune – but, at the same time, one so glossily produced as to lack any soul. It’s also much more submerged in dull electro than prior efforts like Guns + Horses, with a wealth of echoes, fades and ripples, and a rapid background beat. Weirdly, there’s so much digital work present that Under The Sheets already sounds like a remix before it’s even entered a DJ’s record bag. I realise that when I finally manage to listen to it closely: on my first two attempts, bored, I lost concentration.
There are actual remixes available, though, ones which take the electro tone and run with it. This one by Welsh band Friends Electric adds a slice of rat-a-tat and makes things a bit more exciting and epic. If you like that sort of thing.
MP3: Ellie Goulding – Under The Sheets (zSHARE)
MP3: Ellie Goulding – Under The Sheets (Friends Electric remix) (zSHARE)