Ellie Goulding's "Halcyon"

hal-cy-on
adjective: denoting a period of time in the past that was idyllically happy and peaceful.
noun: a tropical Asian and African kingfisher (genus Halcyon) with brightly colored plumage.

Thanks, Google but I don't think Ellie was singing about pretty birds.

The album is #boss. It pretty much is the musical sauce I would totally slap onto some finger-licking ribs that would morph into a magical xylophone I could play when I'm feeling down. What?

The album speaks volumes in the span of 46 minutes and the listener can and will encounter numerous emotions, preferably those related to love, when listening to it. I actually really enjoy when artists of any kind turn a traumatic or sad time in their lives into something very creative whether it be art, music, film, etc. Therapy at it's finest. Liz Colville calls it, "a breakup album for the ages."

Aside from "Lights", which is really catchy, I kinda sorta knew who she was from work she's done with Tinie Tempah and Skrillex. The album came out in October 2012 and I remember I downloaded some of the tunes shortly after it released.  I remember when I heard "My Blood" for the first time, not only did I immediately relate to it but I also put it on my running playlist. It's actually a very magical experience when you're running and this song comes on. It strangely acts as a musical motivator when you're sweaty and exhausted and all you wanna do is stop and Ellie is singing, "And God knows I'm not dying but I bleed now / And God knows it's the only way to heal now / With all the blood I lost with you / It drowns the love I thought I knew" and you get this second wind thinking, "I can totally run more! Screw you, [insert name of whoever this song reminds you of]! I am woman here me roar!"

I remember talking to my friend Katie about the album..."It makes the hurt not hurt so bad," I told her. And it's true. In an interview Goulding had with The Sun, she says the album is "a journey from dark to light," considering it was released a year after her breakup with Radio 1 DJ Greg James.

AND SINCE PLENTY OF TWENTYSOMETHING FEMALES GO THROUGH THAT WTF PERIOD OF THEIR LIVES - CASE IN POINT THIS BUZZFEED ARTICLE THAT HAS BEEN SHOWN TO ME BY 3 OF MY FRIENDS IN THE SPAN OF 24 HOURS - I THINK THE ALBUM SAYS A LOT THAT ONE CAN RELATE TO.

Goulding has this way of making a song sound synth-folk-pop-electronic but in a good way. Her lyrics are powerful and personal. As if you're traveling through a dark period and waiting to find that light at the end of the tunnel. I downloaded more of the tunes recently and I feel like a vanilla-scented unicorn with a fresh mane ready to run through rainbow colored grass. Internally at least. All in all, it's so good and it can get you through the tough stuff!

This is one of the favorite songs and the music video is beautiful...
Explosions - Ellie Goulding

There are only so many words I can use to describe this album. But the only one coming to mind right now is helpful. So thanks, Ellie.

By the by: Totally mentioned this to someone before but if I'm going to have a little girl when I'm older, I want her name to be Ellie. AND THIS WAS WAYYY BEFORE I EVEN HEARD OF E. GOULDING!

So if you're feeling like love can just fuck-all, especially with Valentine's Day coming up, listen to Halcyon. It'll literally make you feel ten times better.