Imogen Heap has offered a preview of what is to come after Stereogum debuted the first single, “First Train Home”, from her forthcoming album Ellipse. For those who don’t know, the English singer/songwriter is best known for her solo work, in particular vocoder lament “Hide And Seek”, which was famously used to soundtrack The O.C. (and was a huge barrel of laughs as the butt of an SNL skit).
Heap has always had a knack for the theatrical, and this is no different. “First Train Home” is an electronically driven track, with a wave of processed beats and keyboard. Her voice is brilliant, the effortless soprano disguising an inherent British accent.
For Ellipse, Heap challenged herself with an isolated, intense and experimental recording processes (see a 360 of her old recording studio), and this is obvious on the lead single — the silence is just as essential as the beautifully produced instrumental.
Heap’s third album Ellipse is to be released August 25th on Heap’s own Megaphonic Records, with Sony’s backing. The tracklisting is as follows:
Ellipse Tracklist:
01. First Train Home
02. Wait It Out
03. Earth
04. Little Bird
05. Swoon
06. Tidal
07. Between Sheets
08. 2 – 1 (formerly ‘Pollyfilla’)
09. Bad Body Double
10. Aha!
11. The Fire
12. Canvas
13. Half Life
