Ellie Goulding is back with a cover of Active Child’s ‘Hanging On’ which indicates the direction that the British song-bird is heading in. Ditching those acoustic guitars for something a little more substantial and different, it’s a shame that this song is almost completely ruined by the monotone rap of Tinie Tempah.
The song opens beautifully and with distinct promise as Ellie’s vocals are accompanied by the sounds of an array of oriental instruments. It’s a shame that the promise doesn’t really fabricate into anything spectacular. There’s no doubt that Ellie Goulding is a fantastic female vocalist but this seems to be the only thing worth listening to in the song. Despite her vocals being pretty much flawless, the track as a whole really isn’t the comeback I expected from her. As for Tinie Tempah’s section… well, it really isn’t needed. The cringe-worthy lyrics just bring the song down even further. “She broke my heart, I took some Gaviscon”- Really, Tinie? Really? You couldn’t think of anything better to say than describing your troubles with heart burn? Massive disappointment from one of the UK’s best male solo artists.
An overall disappointing return from Miss Goulding. Expectations weren’t met and they were distinctly ruined by Tinie Tempah. Let’s hope she has something better up her sleeve for her next release.
‘Hanging On’ is out now and you can download it for free here.
4/10