★★★★
Interscope
The highly-anticipated album to follow up Ms. Goulding's majorly addictive and heavily-remixed "Lights," Halcyon could easily have crumbled under the pressure to live up to its star single. Luckily, this album does nothing but stand out as a clear evolution in the music made by this outstanding British musician. The clear winner on this record is "Hanging On," which features an almost hip-hop feel as well as guest rapper Tinie Tempah. While tracks like "Anything Could Happen" are a little boring, the fact that they star Goulding's clearly exceptional vocals makes them worth a listen or two. In order to temper such pounding hits as that ubiquitous and previously mentioned tune as well as "Hanging On," there are some pretty mellow odes found on this amalgam as well. Haunting tracks like "Dead in the Water" are quite beautiful and a nice addition to the dance-y club tunes she's known for.
Worth a Listen: "Hanging On"
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