Higher Than Heaven by Ellie Goulding | Album Review
The fifth album from the English pop songstress embraces good vibes, intimacy, and self-empowerment.
English singer-songwriter Ellie Goulding is one of those artists you’ve almost certainly heard a song from, but couldn’t identify to save your life.
You’ve likely heard her 2010 breakthrough single “Lights” in any American restaurant or retail store in the past 13 years. If you’re a nightclub person, you’re also probably familiar with her 2013 hit “Burn” or 2015’s “Love Me Like You Do.” Beyond that, however, Goulding remains elusive as a public figure.
Part of that is due to her very open struggle with her mental health, particularly anxiety. Panic attacks and depleted self-confidence crippled her studio output, and she spent 2016 to 2019 largely working on herself.
Another reason for her relative lack of visibility has been the COVID pandemic, which delayed her fourth album, Brightest Blue, and shut down opportunities for her to perform for audiences. Despite this, Goulding has soldiered on artistically, crafting her fifth album Higher Than Heaven with escapism in mind. In an interview with NME, she explained:
“There was definitely a darkness about [the past two years] that was palpable in the studio, with everyone having gone through it differently. I…
