Ellie Goulding: Brightest Blue review – a personal album of two halves

Blue is a royal colour. Stripped bare by Joni Mitchell in 1971, analysed by Maggie Nelson in her 2009 book Bluets, honoured by Beyoncé (her eldest daughter is named Blue Ivy) and tenderly revered by Barry Jenkins in the 2019 film Moonlight, which is based on the play In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue by Tarell Alvin McCraney, blue is strong, soft, warm and cool. Adding another blue to this stoic pile is Ellie Goulding with her fourth album, Brightest Blue, a personal work of two halves.

The 33-year-old first came on the scene in 2009 with Under the Sheets, but her big breakthrough happened with follow-up single Starry-Eyed. Back when Hypem charts and NME covers had sway, Goulding was pegged as the sparkling indie darling, and went on to prove that she’s capable of big, Max Martin-produced pop in the shape of Love Me Like You Do, which featured on the Fifty Shades of Grey soundtrack.

With indie beginnings and global pop heights, it’s hard to place Goulding in one category. By not having a set space in the music sphere, she can easily move around to find a new sweet spot and she fully uses that to her advantage.

“Think I’m going to reinvent myself again,” she sings on Start, the introspective opening track. A collaboration with the incredible experimental R&B singer Serpentwithfeet, who performed at her wedding last year to art dealer Caspar Jopling, it introduces us to the latest phase of Goulding.

As lead writer on all songs on Part A, Goulding irons the creases in her mind and her heart over cool R&B synths and dramatic choruses. Navigating the same seas of turbulent and emotive pop that Lykke Li, James Blake and Tove Lo have waded many times, she looks for a clear sense of identity in life and love and she takes a confessional stance on How Deep Is Too Deep and Love I’m Given, which are raw in their outpourings and slick in their delivery.

Part B, titled EG.0, is a different beast. With multiple producers, songwriters and collaborators such as hip-hop MCs blackbear, Juice WRLD (who passed away in December) and Swaa Lee on board, Goulding deftly combines her emotional dexterity with their distinctive sound.

With three of Part B’s five songs – Close to Me, Hate Me and Worry About Me – having mild chart success already, Goulding continues to swing between indie and mainstream pop. As far as famous blues go, Brightest Blue has a lot to compete with. But this is a welcome addition to the palette.