Imogen Heap
Ellipse

Over a decade on the music scene, and Imogen Heap is still here, and, I would add, in excellent shape.

How many, I wonder, would have bet on her when in 1998 she released that flop that was her debut album "I Megaphone," reminiscent of heavy Morissette-style, consisting of a scant number of alternative rock gems drowned in filler pieces? Very few, indeed, and even fewer when in 2002 she came out with a brilliant side project, the electronic duo Frou Frou, composed together with her dear friend composer and producer Guy Sigsworth (Seal, Bjork), which, in the hands of Island Records, too focused on its three or four proteges, went up in smoke achieving more than disappointing sales.

It was in 2005 that Miss Heap's uncertain career took the necessary turn, thanks to the great success of her second solo project, "Speak For Yourself," from which came the worldwide hit "Hide & Seek," and, after a series of statements, a vlog (a blog composed solely of videos) on her site and continuous sneak peeks, most of the fans had lost all hope that the gestation of her third studio album would come to an end.

Instead, everything came to a happy ending when, at the end of last autumn, the singer finally self-released worldwide "Ellipse," an interesting project that reflects her 100%: halfway between the typical committed British singer-songwriter and a mysterious forest elf that seems to have just stepped out of a fantasy.

Over 4 years she needed to craft a rather satisfying record, full of interesting ideas, polished in every detail, but which perhaps finds its weakness precisely in this, in the exaggerated study of every sound: there is not a beat out of place, a sound that shouldn't be there, too much vocal warbling, and, precisely for this reason, rather than soar, sometimes the tracks seem, despite their beauty, static and lacking that delicious taste of uncertainty that was breathed in the last album, but which always provided that something extra to each melody.

The opening track (also the launch single) "First Train Home" is somewhat uninventive, with a flat and repetitive chorus, which gains momentum only in the increasing intensity of the background in the last seconds, and the same fate befalls "Swoon", which, in the first part, appears to be an experiment successful only halfway.

Of great intensity, as usual, are the piano compositions such as "Wait It Out", "Between Sheets" and the brilliant semi-orchestral close "Half Life", but we immediately receive the definitive confirmation that Heap gives her best when she is face to face with her beloved sequencer, the "instrumental" heart of all her tours, with which she composed that gem that is the introspective "Little Bird", and, with the additional help of a double bass, "Aha", one of the highest points of the album, which would not look out of place in a Burtonian work.

The peak of the album, however, is undoubtedly "Canvas", a true masterpiece without half measures, which, on an initial classical guitar riff, adding choirs, a light percussive ticking, a few electronic interludes, a couple of strings and some intelligently brushed keys on the piano, builds a truly unforgettable atmosphere of mystery and relaxation. Probably one of the greatest works of her production.

In short, a good and rather respectable album, but, perhaps, not quite up to the burning expectations.

One thing is certain: Heap has finally found her place on the alternative scene and the fame she deserves (just think of the mystical aura that now surrounds her in the USA, where the album debuted at #5 after only 3 days of release).

P.S.: In Japan, the album was released with, as a bonus track, the pleasant soundtrack she composed and performed for the second season of Heroes "Not Now But Soon".