Album: Ellipse
Artist: Imogen Heap
Label: Megaphonic Records
Release date: 24th August 2009
From the first moments of its creation some two years ago, to its eventual release only days ago, the journey of Imogen Heap’s Ellipse has been well-documented. In July, the album very nearly leaked when a promotional copy was found on eBay (you may remember that we were heavily involved in reporting that story, now referred to by SK staffers as ‘Cabootergate’ – Ed.) With frequent updates from Heap via Twitter and YouTube, fans have been given a rare insight into the process of building a home and a studio, and making a record.
These updates became a unique opportunity for the East London singer-songwriter to develop a real relationship with her fans, and it seems to have worked, with half a million views on YouTube and just under a million Twitter followers. However, that’s just the hype; these number are not the fundamentals on which to judge the musical quality of a record. So let’s move on.
The usual Heap trademarks are apparent from the first listen, which should satisfy loyal fans. The silky vocal harmonies; the unusual instrumentation; the fluffy, lighter-than-air “drum’n'bass” electronic percussion; and, of course, the meticulous attention paid to the production of each track, a constant throughout Heap’s work.
The album opens with “First Train Home”, which combines a slow, pulsating bassline and an interesting mix of percussive instruments beneath Heap’s smooth vocal melodies. Such a gentle song might seem an unusual choice to open an album, yet it seems to work.
“Bad Body Double” is pure lyrical storytelling, depicting the frustration of trying to get rid of an obsessed admirer (“As you can see I’ve got someone quite nice with me here / Can’t we just be left alone?/I guess that’s a no then / Seeing as you’re still here…”) There seems to be a slight hint of the “Local Accent” singing style made popular by Kate Nash, Lily Allen and The View, but perhaps that’s just me…
“Canvas” shows a darker side to Heap’s spirited pop style. The compound timing on the guitar and percussion lays the foundations for a rhythmic, mysterious track. The piano provides a wonderfully subtle melody to accompany the haunted vocals – listen out for the low F# on the piano just before the vocals enter.
Ellipse brings a refreshing new meaning to the term ‘pop’, injecting some long-awaited originality, hard graft, and sheer songwriting talent in a genre saturated by image-obsessed starlet and reality TV winners. So, does Ellipse live up to the hype of the last two years? Hell, yes.
Our Arbitrary Numerical Verdict:
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Jamie Hewitt is a musician and producer based in Dundee. 
I suggest you listen to Bad Body Double again if you think it’s about an obsessed admirer. My impression of the song is that she’s singing about the person she has inadvertently become and her insecurities about it tend to pop up at the most inconvenient times. It explores the relationship between the image of what one was, to what they think they are now, to what they actually are.
But that’s just my interpretation.
Yes Jon, you might be right after all. Admittedly, it was my first listen of the song and I didn’t explore that deep into the meaning behind the lyrics of the song. I’m a sound engineer – vocals are just another part of the waveform to me!
Great album. It really gets better with every listen. My only complaints are that several of the songs seem to end just after they really take off. But I’m growing to love album so much that I feel bad even complaining that it’s too short.
Yes, BBD is talking about herself, most evident in the end when she sums up the courage to admit she’s let herself go and will tackle her badspots – tomorrow.