Written by MaryCaitli<\/p>\n
After a four-year hiatus, the two-time Grammy nominee Imogen Heap recently released her third album, “Ellipse” on Aug 24. Already, “Ellipse” has been charted at number five on the Billboard Top 200. Best known for her ghostly anthem “Hide and Seek,” she can now be heard in Jason Derulo’s “Whatcha Say.” Although sales and interest have been positive, feelings regarding the album’s potential are mixed.<\/p>\n
Heap’s native competition, Coldplay and Keane, experiment with their style and sound, but she sticks to her roots, and “Ellipse” captures the familiar sound of 2005’s “Speak for Yourself.” While far from groundbreaking, it is apparent Heap put her heart into many of her tracks.<\/p>\n
The first single, “First Train Home,” is catchy with its repetition and fast tempo. Heap sings of “bodies disengaged, our mouths fleshing over \u2026 the urge to feel your face, and blood rushing to paint my handprint.” If you are seeking a new track to add to your Imogen Heap collection, this song is highly recommended.<\/p>\n
“Wait it out,” one of her stronger lyrical tracks, features similar chords from “Hide and Seek.” The chorus states “Everybody says that time heals everything,” but the song’s focal point is the bridge: “For all we could and should be being in the one life we’ve got.”<\/p>\n
While most of her tracks contain sweet melodies and repetitive rhythmic beats, many of them sound the same. Unfortunately some of the tracks seem simply composed to provide a lengthier album. Heap takes the plunge on the track “Bad Body Double.” With terrible lyrics and hokey chords, this song is a waste of money. Without a doubt, Heap could not do any worse than “Bad Body Double,” with its breathy, Britney Spears sound.<\/p>\n
Tracks such as “Aha!” and “2-1” start off strong and promising, yet die halfway through. You cannot help but feel Heap is inspired by Danny Elfman’s work in “The Nightmare Before Christmas” when listening to “Aha!” The supporting vocals and eerie notes only seem to be reminiscent of a circus gone wrong. “2-1” simply quotes the famous phrase “things are not always as them seem,” which seems unoriginal and at this point in Heap’s eight-year-career, she needs new material.<\/p>\n
“The Fire,” a well-written yet shorter track will almost seem like a movie’s theme during the first listening. It is in this track that her talent as a composer becomes more apparent as the song progresses from a weary state to a state of curiosity.<\/p>\n
Her strongly composed track “Canvas,” ends her album with dignity. The heavier lyrics and dueling guitar and piano provide fans with Heap’s true talent as singer, songwriter and producer. While many would say it’s full of clich\u00e9s, the song makes a strong mark in comparison to the other tracks. Heap’s disarray in “Canvas” can be paraphrased with its first verse: “Slow heart dark wait down love black canvas. Revolve within, you understand. Fragile earth where cracks in the temperature. Keep it cool to give, you understand.”<\/p>\n
All in all, this album is a good listen for a true Imogen Heap fan. However, Heap will always be known for “Hide and Seek,” which was her prime single. With this latest album, there is not a lot of hope for Imogen Heap topping “Speak for Yourself.” Only time will tell.<\/p>\n
n Tanksley<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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