Among the English artists conspicuously missing from the London Olympics' closing ceremony — the so-called "Symphony of British Music" that featured performances by the Who, One Direction and dozens more — was Ellie Goulding, whose 2010 electro-pop debut, "Lights," topped U.K. charts before breaking here this past summer. But maybe Goulding was excluded because she'd already taken part in another era-defining event across the pond: the wedding last year of Prince William and Kate Middleton.
The singer's fine sophomore disc demonstrates why the latter occasion — at which she serenaded the royal couple with a version of Elton John's "Your Song" — was better suited to Goulding's talents. On "Halcyon" she marries thoughtful ruminations on young love to whooshing synth riffs and hard-edged machine beats; the album claims electronic dance music as the natural province of sensitive singer-songwriters.
