Sophie Ellis-Bextor - Make A Scene (2011) Repost

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Sophie Ellis-Bextor - Make A Scene (2011) Repost

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Sophie Ellis-Bextor is no stranger to the music industry, and if you so much as mention her name, there is bound to be one or two fans who immediately spring into life. Having already recorded three studio albums which began with her debut release ‘Read My Lips’ in 2001, the singer-songwriter is back with another helping that has been three years in the making – ‘Make A Scene’.

After originally being planned as a ‘Greatest Hits’ compilation, both Ellis-Bextor and then record label ‘Fascination Records’ decided that a fourth full-length would be a good idea. Singles from the new release already include ‘Heartbreak (Make Me A Dancer)’ and a collaboration with Junior Caldera, ‘Can’t Fight This Feeling’.

Whatever the case, Sophie Ellis-Bextor is always going to be seen as a marmite case – you either love her or you hate her. It’s more than likely that ‘Make A Scene’ will produce the same mixed feelings, and the disappointment of her latest singles not even managing the top ten could make it an already difficult up-hill struggle for this release to win over the lost fans.

Having also been quoted expressing her new-found love for trance music, the worry was this would reflect heavily in ‘Make A Scene’ – however we are delighted to say that this is totally not the case; though the album is definitely Sophie’s most dance-filled release.

Fourteen tracks make up the new record, including her work with Armin van Buuren, Freemasons and Junior Caldera. The opening track ‘Revolution’ really set the bar high for the rest of the tracks to follow. In what could only be described in reverb heaven, Ellis-Bextor’s catchy repetition and sweet yet commanding vocals would make impress even the more hard-to-please dance music fans – a heavily energetic and impressive opener that really defines the overall mood and feeling of this latest release.

Following the opener comes the first single taken from ‘Make A Scene’, ‘Bittersweet’ and a highly impressive electro-pop wonder ‘Off and On’, which is highly reminiscent of an early 80′s Disco sound in many ways. You can certainly see the Calvin Harris factor that has crept it’s way into the track and production wise, ‘Off and On’ is absolutely top of the order. Written by a combination of Calvin Harris and Irish star Roisin Murphy, it is definitely the star track from ‘Make A Scene’.

From here on, it’s typically as you’d expect from Sophie Ellis-Bextor. Both ‘Not Giving Up On Love’ and ‘Can’t Fight This Feeling’ are the epitome of her international success – both anthem-driven tracks however are always going to be compared with the former in ‘Off and On’, which is where we begin to see a reoccuring issue.

‘Starlight’ is another one of those tracks that is a clear winner, and provides the main driving force along with the already mentioned ‘Off and On’. Scoring rave reviews with many critics, ‘Starlight’ offers a much more soothing vocal, again with a very 80′s-esque twist. Where it is lacking in upbeat tempo, the catchy chorus and and well written lyrics compliment Sophie’s voice perfectly. Again this is where that reoccuring (yet to be identified) issue keeps cropping up. Whether entirely deliberate or not we may never know, but the slightly mundane and mediocre tracks six and seven seem to be forgotten about by the time it comes we move onto the much more lively and mass-appeasing track – similarly furthermore towards the latter of the record.

Again the disappointment of the title track from the album ‘Make A Scene’ and ‘Under Your Touch’ are effectively masked by the very dreamy ‘Magic’. The dance anthem-driven feel is again rife, and makes for an enjoyable listening experience again due to the soothing and beautifully harmonic vocals.

Finally, the album rounds up with another two favourite album tracks ‘Synchronised’ and ‘Cut Straight To The Heart’ after a shameful disappointment from a track we hoped to get a lot more from in ‘Homewrecker’. Both of these tracks similarly focus on Sophie’s undeniably brilliant vocal, and are a lot more relaxed than maybe that of ‘Off an On’ where we experience a hard synth presence.

All in all, Sophie Ellis-Bextor has really out-done herself on this one. Saying this, it was never in any doubt that Ellis-Bextor is an extremely talented songstress, and she has definitely provided an album with great future potential. Whether is receives the high scores we hope for though only time will tell, as it seems people have lost touch with her music in recent years – a great shame indeed.

~ Lee Bradshaw, Clixie

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Sophie Ellis-Bextor - Make A Scene (2011) Repost

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Sophie Ellis-Bextor - Make A Scene (2011) Repost

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