The highly-anticipated album Ellipse is a solid third effort from British-born singer/songwriter Imogen Heap, spreading on delicious layers of synthetic and organic sounds that blend to create an engaging musical landscape. In many ways, Ellipse is a departure from her somewhat disorganized first 1998 release iMegaphone and the heavily-produced, ethereal 2005 sophomoric effort Speak for Yourself and shows she has, at the very least learned a lot about her many studio gadgets.
Heap has clearly learned how to utilize these tools to communicate a meaningful message about relationships and humanity through inventive lyrics and unique instrumental combinations … and her fans have seen this journey to create her recording studio in her family home in great detail through her popular video blog. Yet Ellipse also combines many of the sensibilities of Imogen Heap’s best work with Frou Frou and on her own, while still proving she is willing to take creative risks that both hit and miss the mark.
Raw Vocal Work and Ellipse Melodies
One of the best decisions Ms. Heap makes on this album is to use untreated, raw vocals more often than on previous albums, allowing her natural vocal talents to shine through and glide over instrumental effects and percussive textures. “2-1” is one of the more honest tracks on the album and combines her stark, often gritty voice with smooth cello harmonies that are juxtaposed beautifully with tiers of dirty dark percussion and synthesizer melodies to highlight an interesting contrast and effectively communicate the uncertainty of tumultuous romantic relationships. The track “The Fire” brings simplicity and starkness to a new level and showcases her impressive skills as a pianist, combining a haunting, untreated piano melody with nothing but a soft, crackling fire effect. These two songs together show Heap’s strong ability to communicate a deep musical and emotional message through either lyrics and vocals or pure instrumental melody.
Those that appreciate Imogen Heap’s use previously signature use of pitch alteration, vocal harmonies that soar into the stratosphere and heavy synthesizers will be satisfied by tracks like “Swoon” and “Aha!” But these two tracks sound over-the-top, wild and a bit out of control compared to the effortlessness of the more pared-down songs on Ellipse. Still, the listener will appreciate Heap’s ability to continue to gamble with her own music and feel that these songs are if nothing, a playful exploration of new sounds and textures that marks her distinctive style and puts a modern twist on the concept of the orchestral.
While the opening track “First Train Home” is clearly in that position on the album because it is most like her previous hit singles – full of melodic, driving vocal effects and a wall of different melodies, harmonies and percussion – it is not necessarily the stand-out tune. Imogen Heap is at her best when she is able to show her vulnerability, and Ellipse is full of moments that make the listener feel that she has uncovered something both special and familiar about being human, which is accomplished through two remarkable tracks, “Between Sheets” and “Half Life.”
“Between Sheets” presents a lovely post-, pre- and during-coital moment frozen in time. It combines the sound of fluttering bird wings and a desolate, perpetual piano melody and dissonant counter-melody that float in and out, played against piles of vocal harmonies. The assonant harmonies stress the “bliss” the lyrics, while the dissonance that continuously threatens insinuates the impermanence of these moments of happiness. Lines like “The many wind-swept yellow stickies of my mind/Are the molten emotional frontline” show Heap’s capacity as a lyricist to describe a familiar feeling in a way no one has before her.
Piano Melodies Make Imogen Heap's Album Shine
In “Half Life,” Imogen Heap mingles her untreated voice singing a melody with echoing piano and strings as well as synthesizer effects. It opens with what becomes the initial, innovative percussion line – the sound of conversation – and helps to illustrate her feelings of emotional and physical distance from the human subject. Again, she further drives home the distance with barely audible piano counterpoint that sounds to be far in the background as well as lyrics like “Be a hundred percent when I’m with you and then/A perfect heart’s length away.”
Ellipse is a strong piece of work full of exciting and interesting musical moments that make music lovers sit up and take notice, even if other moments fall a touch flat. It shows that Imogen Heap continues to mature as a multi-faceted musician, singer, producer, songwriter and orchestrator.
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