As the BBC Sound of 2010, as well as the Critic’s Choice at the Brits, Ellie Goulding starts the year with immense expectations. Her second single, “Starry Eyed” completes the formalities of turning hype into sales with minimal fuss, yet appears to be primarily a vehicle for the requisite remixes that it has inevitably spawned. Personally, I feel that the production of the song actually takes away from what’s special about Ellie - her remarkable vocals are tamed by autotune and compression. They’re much more evident in the BBC Radio One Live Lounge performance (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QoGeH6lIqc4), where her flutters and leaps are free to be at their genuinely engaging and moving best, like a modern day Joni Mitchell. I also preferred the angular bass and synth interjections that punctuated her debut single “Under The Sheets”, which allowed her vocals to shine.
Through her links with electro and dubstep, Ellie appears to have captured the credibility that rather eluded her contemporaries La Roux and Little Boots and I hope that gives her the freedom to be more adventurous than this rather timid offering.
- Matthew Tyzack
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