Halcyon Days features a mix of tracks from Halcyon with a number of bonus extras, including a soft, tantalising cover of Alt-J’s ‘Tessellate’ and an assortment of higher tempo electronic tunes like the single ‘Burn’ and a collaboration with French producer Madeon, ‘Stay Awake’.
Goulding has perfected the art of accompanying her delicate, throaty vocals with digital effects, moving away from the traditional soft-pop genre and towards EDM.
Aside from the piano ballad ‘How Long Will I Love You’ the songs that compose Halcyon Days are upbeat, easy on the ears, and oriented towards commercial radio – while also retaining the lyricism typical of Goulding’s work on ‘Lights’ and ‘Starry Eyed.’
The new tracks on Halcyon Days also move away from the theme of heartbreak and love that was strong throughout the original songs on Halcyon, written following a split with a long time boyfriend.
It seems that following her chart success with tunes like ‘Anything Could Happen’, Goulding has moved on. She has turned her songwriting away from themes with personal meaning and towards catchier, upbeat pop tunes that are likely to continue her worldwide radio takeover.
The package as a whole seems a little disjointed, with the songs from Days not really following the theme of the original Halcyon. Nonetheless, fans of Goulding will not be disappointed with these new feel-good tracks they can sing aloud to.
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