Sophie Ellis-Bextor - Trip the Light Fantastic

Sophie is back!!

Sophie Ellis-Bextor has done it again! After two stellar albums, she has exceeded expectations with her latest album, Trip the Light Fantastic.

Supersonic is fun & light. China Heart, Love is Here, The Distance Between Us and Today the Sun's On Us all demonstrate her ability to combine evocative lyrics and great pop melodies. Of course the singles, Catch Me and Me and My Imagination, are wonderfully catchy and instantly singable.

Enjoy! June 1, 2007

Third time's the charm

Sophie Ellis-Bextor has always been my favorite pop singer. Read My Lips, her first LP, is suitably danceable disco-pop that was fresh in 2001, and although a bit dated now, is still as enjoyable as it is slightly hammy. Her follow-up from 2003, Shoot From The Hip, isn't quite so well-liked, but I think it shows a natural progression, especially the single "Mixed Up World" which Sophie wrote, according to her Popworld appearance from that year, in response to the invasion of Iraq and the tumult of feelings that comes with figuring out "those with the keys to the kingdom" don't really know what to do with their treasure. But man oh man, Trip The Light Fantastic is just... Fantastic (hammy!).

This is a sharp LP full of great dance songs and great ideas. It is the sum of all that was good about her first two records, but with a consistancy heretofor largely unseen in the pop music world- nearly every single track is perfectly nuanced and connects with the tracks around it. Of particular quality are the second single "Me And My Imagination" (an Ibiza-influenced disco song with lovely swirling violins), "China Heart" (a vibrating bass-backed dance song about fragile emotions), and the quite remarkable "The Distance Between Us," which pulls not just at the heartstrings with its lush atmosphere and poignant lyrical content, but also at the nostalgia that comes with hearing synths used to such ballad-extraordinary heights.

On the whole this is one of the best albums of the past few years, and it, as well as its great singles are well worth the price of buying the import. May 26, 2007

Back with a Vengence

After discovering Sophie during my freshman year of college, and fell instantly in love with Mademoiselle EB and her strongly accented British voice. Her second CD was a bit of a let-down, its bouncy 70s power-pop not matching up to the superior Read My Lips' 70s and 80s inspired electro-disco.

She's back here with Trip the Light Fantastic, and she doesn't disappoint on this one. It's by far her most modern-sounding album, with only a few retro-sounding songs mixed in here and there. First single "Catch You" is catchy and guitar driven, and leads off the album nicely. Second single "Me & My Imagination" sounds like it came directly off of Read My Lips, as does "If I Can't Dance" does with Shoot From the Hip. "Today the Sun's on Us," "The Distance Between Us," "Love is Here," and "What Have We Started" are basically all the same song thematically (about how much she loves her man), but they're all accompanied by memorable hooks and mid tempo dance grooves that keep them distiguishable and fresh. "New York City Lights" and "China Heart" are refreshingly heavy dance gems compared to the lighter fare Sophie is usually producing, and they're two of the best songs on the album. Which bring us to the best song and the worst two, which fizzle toward the end of the album and come off sounding like B-sides. 60s go-go isn't her thing, as evidenced by "Only One" and "New Flame" proves she's no Pat Benetar. Last but not least, "If You Go" is a piece of pure pop perfection, and for my money is one of Sophie's top 3 songs ever. May 25, 2007

Sparkly dance pop!!!

The tracklisting for the UK version of this CD is as follows;

1. Catch you
2. Me and my imagination
3. Today the sun's on us
4. New York city lights
5. If I can't dance
6. The distance between us
7. If you go
8. Only one
9. Love is here
10. New flame
11. China heart
12. What have we started
13. Can't have it all
14. Supersonic

"Trip the light fantastic" is UK songstress Sophie Ellis-Bextor's third release, and the sound is guitar dance/pop.

Sophie first came to general attention on the Groovejet hit "Spiller (If it aint love)", a catchy dance number with a groovy bassline, and her detached, but crisp enunciation floating above it all, as well as her solo smash, the similar "Murder on the dancefloor".

Fans of those songs won't be disappointed. The violin filled "Me and my imagination", the disco sounding "If I can't dance", and the eurodisco sound of "Supersonic" and "New York city lights" are aimed firmly at the clubs, and they don't miss.

Lead off single "Catch you" is a catchy slice of guitar/dance/pop, as is the sunny sounding "Only one".

"If you go" is a melodic midtempo number with dreamy harmonies, while the dreamy ballad "The distance between us" is simply lovely. "Today the sun's on us" is a great chugging midtempo rock/pop number, rather Natalie Imbruglia-like.

"New flame" is an incredibly catchy latin tinged dance number, while the similar synth driven "China heart" (with lovely harmonies) has Giorgio Moroder overtones.

A very good pop record, which is a rare feat these days.
May 22, 2007

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