Click to see the cover for Halcyon Days
Halcyon is the second studio album by Ellie Goulding, released on October 5th, 2012 through Polydor Records in the UK and Cherrytree Records & Interscope Records in the US. Halcyon marked a departure from the folk-influenced Lights, with new elements such as Alternative Dance, Dream Pop, and Dubstep being brought in and all folk aspects being removed entirely. The sound is considerably Darker and Edgier than before, both lyrically and sonically, compared to the more upbeat Lights. To both critics and fans, Halcyon is considered to be a definite improvement over its already solid predecessor. Since release, Halcyon has sold over 1.5 million copies worldwide.
Tracklist:
- "Don't Say a Word" (4:07)
- "My Blood" (3:54)
- "Anything Could Happen" (4:47)
- "Only You" (3:51)
- "Halcyon" (3:25)
- "Figure 8" (4:08)
- "Joy" (3:14)
- "Hanging On" (3:22)
- "Explosions" (4:03)
- "I Know You Care" (3:26)
- "Atlantis" (3:53)
- "Dead in the Water" (4:44)
- "I Need Your Love" (3:58) (bonus track)
UK Special Edition
- "The Ending" (4:41)
- "High For This" (4:49)
Deluxe Edition
- "Ritual" (3:50)
- "In My City" (3:20)
- "Without Your Love" (4:19)
- "Hanging On" (featuring Tinie Tempah) (4:15)
- "Lights" (Pnau remix) (4:05)
An Updated Re-release titled Halcyon Days was released on August 23, 2013. All tracks from Halcyon are included, with the addition of eight new tracks to go with it, most notably "Burn" and "Goodness Gracious", bringing the number of songs to a whopping twenty-one.
Tracklist:
- "Burn"
- "Goodness Gracious"
- "You My Everything"
- "Hearts Without Chains"
- "Stay Awake" (feat. Madeon)
- "Under Control"
- "Flashlight" (with DJ Fresh)
- "How Long Will I Love You" (bonus track)
Deluxe Edition
- "Tessellate" (3:02)
- "Midas Touch" (with Burns) (3:45)
I chase your tropes around a figure 8, I need you more than I can take!
- Alliterative Title: "Goodness Gracious"
- Capcom Sequel Stagnation: The original Halcyon was rereleased multiple times with new songs added, until Halcyon Days... which got this treatment too.
- Cover Version: Halcyon includes "Hanging On", originally by Active Child. Halcyon Days adds "How Long Will I Love You" as a bonus track, originally by The Waterboys. The deluxe edition of Halcyon Days adds "Tessellate", originally by alt-J.
- Darker and Edgier: Compared to Lights both musicly and lyrically, with themes of break-ups and Destructive Romance.
- Deliberately Monochrome: The album cover is shot in black-and-white.
- Destructive Romance: "Goodness Gracious" is a light, upbeat sounding song describing one.
- Face on the Cover: A close-up of the singer's face.
- New Sound Album: Lights was a mix of synthpop, indietronica, and folk. Halcyon ditches the folk, and brings in alternative dance, dream pop, and dubstep. Justified, due to her boyfriend (at the time) being Skrillex.
- Precision F-Strike: Not Goulding, whose language is clean throughout, but the remix of "Hanging On" featuring rapper Tinie Tempah features several instances of swearing provided in his guest verse.
- Explosions
On the day you wake up needing somebody
And you've learned
It's okay to be afraid, but it will never be the same
It will never be the same
