Foxes’ aptly titled album ‘Glorious’ opens with a storm in the shape of the ferociously primal ‘Talking To Ghosts’. As Foxes offers herself as the guiding light to the ghost of someone who is no longer around, an Asian melody hovers alongside addictively shivering synths and epic tribal drums that roar with enough vigour to start an earthquake at any one of her gigs. It’s very rare I listen to an album track and think “This needs to be a single” but this really needs to be a single.
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Current single ‘Holding Onto Heaven’ is a stampeding 80’s-esque ballad. While it doesn’t carry the immediate urgency of her previous singles, Foxes’ bare-to-the-bone voice swim beautifully among the twinkles and pianos before soaring on the wings of a choir during the breakbeat-inspired chorus.
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Title track ‘Glorious’, in short, is what it says on the tin. The melancholic faux-dubstep ballad truly stands out on the album and it’s easy to see why the album shares its name with this song. Foxes’ unique songwriting stands out yet again and also shows off her flare for writing a catchy melody. While it’s impossible to fault ‘Glorious’ in any way, it’s best moment is the final minute where Foxes is joined by layer upon layer of backing vocals to belt out a heart wrenching lyric and melody combination to an epic crescendo.
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Samples of birdsong can be heard on the dazzlingly cinematic ballad that is ‘Night Glo’. Beauty and heartbreak permeate from each and every pore of this breathtaking song; there is a heavy weight of emotion in the vocals that feels like Foxes is singing as though this would be her swan song.
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It’s been a long time coming, but Foxes has executed a near-perfect album that remains cohesive without each song sounding like one another. Hitting the nail on the head, this album is very much a glorious effort.
We’ll tell you something for free – we didn’t expect our first five-star review of the year to be for Foxes. (...) Foxes has managed to steal a march over every single one of her female contemporaries.
It feels like every single track on Glorious was conceived with nothing but epic grandeur in mind, so do they teem with fervour. Talking to Ghosts is as storming an opener as you could ask for, taking what you might expect from a pop starlet and adding a dozen new layers of depth. Holding on to Heaven confirms what we already know, in that Foxes knows how to deliver a chart-friendly hit as much as the next Katy Perry, minus any gimmick.
She’s already a Grammy winner before her debut has even dropped. (...) She sings each song as if it were her last, pouring out a dazzling range of emotion on Night Glo. (...) The title track, probably far more than you’d think a pop song deserves. (...) Go ahead and file Glorious under ‘surprisingly near-perfect’, go ahead and send Foxes stratospheric.
Foxes doesn’t do things by halves does she? Starting out singing at open mic nights, moving on to featuring on the huge Zedd hit Clarity, performing recently to rapturous applause at SXSW, and now releasing her very own debut album, entitled Glorious – not bad for a 25 year old eh?
And it’s with this confidence and swagger that Glorious really shines. Album opener Talking to Ghosts has the feel of a track that’s begging to be played loud and proud, starting off melancholy but leading into a huge chorus with layers of beats and excellent vocals.
Some tracks on the album really take it back with a 90s dance vibe; Hold onto Heaven is an example of this with its melancholy build up and uplifting chorus, whereas Night Owls Early Birds also fits snugly in this category, featuring a hint of Arcade Fire darkness about it which really works well.
What works well for the album is how you can listen to it. It would sit comfortably being something you and your mates listen to before you go for a night out on the town, and would also work well as a record for the individual to enjoy the singers’ fine vocal work and heightened emotions. It’s rare for an album to work so brilliantly in both situations, but that’s just what has been created in Glorious.
There are lots of good ideas here and nothing more so than recent single Let Go for Tonight. Really playing on the Bastille sound, it has a chorus that will have you reaching for the sky and making you want to live life to the full.
[b]Glorious is a great debut for an upcoming singer.[b] It’s going to be interesting to see what direction she takes on her next album – hopefully she’ll be one of these artists that flits from style to style without batting an eyelid, this will keep her fans interested, bring her new ones and it’s where her real strength lies.
4 / 5 stars
Are these metacritic reviews? Dunno. hew curr?
That's all we have so far. I imagine more will come in as we get closer to release
ATRL is gonna bandwagon for her once Glorious tops Billboard. Bookmark me.
EDIT: waiT, the shade.
Quote:
Holding on to Heaven confirms what we already know, in that Foxes knows how to deliver a chart-friendly hit as much as the next Katy Perry, minus any gimmick.
And of course, a star is born in Allen, who justifies why she’s already a Grammy winner before her debut has even dropped.
