Shaun Kitchener, writing for the UK based online magazine Entertainmentwise, today gives the following review of Ellas upcoming album "Chapter One". Citing parts of the review:
"Ella Henderson is still all over the
airwaves with her chart-topping debut single 'Ghost', and with an
equally brilliant follow-up in the pipeline and the all-important album,
she's in a good position to become one of the standout British talents
of 2014."
................................
"1. 'Ghost' - If you say you haven't heard this song
yet, we just flat-out won't believe you. The all-conquering chart-topper
has been all over the radio for the last several months, and deservedly
so: a classic Ryantedderballad with a strut-a-long chorus, a
spine-tingling middle-8 and almighty finale, it has rightly cemented
Ella as a potential game-changer on the British pop scene. But does she
have follow-up material to back it up? Let's have a listen...
2. 'Empire' - WHAT A SONG. Produced, according to
good old Wikpedia, by the phenomenal TMS ('Wings' and 'DNA' for Little
Mix, 'My Best' for Rebecca Ferguson, 'Do You Think Of Me?' for Misha B),
'Empire' is magnificent. With a rousing chorus and a glorious vocal
turn from the lady herself, this is going to be amazing live and will
doubtless rack up a ginormous Play Count on our iTunes library.
3. 'Glow' - Unsure about this second single? Fear
not: the midtempo electrowobbler is a ludicrously powerful,
goosebump-inducing grower. The expectation of the finale would be a big
key change-laden, octave-spanning assault of vocal gymnastics and
production flourishes, but the way it's executed is pure perfection and
actually a tiny bit haunting. There's a strong chance she'll perform
this on The X Factor and we cannot even slightly wait.
4. 'Yours' - Opens like Snow
Patrol's 'Run'; is better. Downtempo moments on mainstream pop albums
are often the biggest let-downs, but not for Ella. She could comfortably
sit alongside Adele with this soulfully-performed ballad that shows off
her knack for songwriting as much as it does her singing.
5. 'Mirror Man' - There's a lot of old-school,
Paloma-esque sass in this ditty, complete with a standout bassline,
sweeping strings and fabulous high-pitched "YOU!" bits in the chorus.
Wouldn't sound out of place in a Richard Curtis romcom, actually.
6. 'Hard Work' - Reminiscent of some of the nicer
bits of the Emeli Sande album, 'Hard Work' is one of several songs that
makes it impossible to believe Ella is still only 18-years-old. And
actually, scrap what we said about 'Mirror Man': this one would be cracking in a Richard Curtis romcom. Is that a harp in the background? If so, we're fully on board. #teamharp
7. 'Pieces' - TMS strike solid gold once more with
this incredible tune that would have made a great lead single if 'Ghost'
never existed. This is probably the most 'frantic' the album ever gets,
and we will never ever tire of an enormous "WOAH-OH-OH-OH" chorus.
We're also trying hard at this point to remember the last time we heard
an album that made it to Track 7 without faltering once.
8. 'The First Time' - We know
comparisons can often be a lazy way of critiquing, but in all
seriousness this reminds us a little of Leona Lewis' debut album. 'The
First Time' has the faintest R&B whiff about it but is still
unashamedly a darn great pop song; like if JoJo and Stacie Oricco were
still going strong today, this might be the kind of thing they'd
release. It's also the kind of song that would get both Radio 1 and Radio 2 playlisters excited.
9. 'All Again' - Apparently co-written with Jamie
Scott (One Direction’s ‘Story Of My Life’, The Vamps’ ‘Wild Heart’,
Little Mix’s ‘Towers’), ‘All Again’ is a sparsely-produced ballad about
being cut to shreds by love but having no regrets. “I am falling but I’m
too weak to fly,” she laments, later adding: “I spent a long time
running from the mess we made, but I’d do it all again.” Lovely and -
again - very, very mature.
10. 'Give Your Heart Away' - With big, bombastic
drum production and an anthemic chorus, this midtempo tune helps prevent
a problem that holds back so many other great pop albums: the classic
Third Quarter Sag. Salvation!
11. 'Rockets' - Oh God, this
is so breezy we just wanna don sunglasses, grab an iced drink from the
nearest High Street coffee shop and stroll down the road flicking our
hair in slow motion. The fact it's Track 11 means it's unlikely to be a
single, but might we suggest it...? Pretty please? Ariana Grande
wouldn't turn her nose up at this, you know.
12. 'Lay Down' - Another well executed piano ballad,
'Lay Down' isn't the most memorable track on the collection but there's
no denying the affecting vocal Ella delivers or the wisely understated
nature of the production.
13. 'Missed' - The song that first made the star a
breakout sensation on The X Factor, 'Missed' sounds even better here
than it did back in 2012. There's a reason Dermot O'Leary singled her
out as the best auditionee the show's ever had, and this is it."
