^ I was actually meaning to look for that before! I am going to need to find some way to convert them from .ogg, though, as I don't believe iPods support the format and, despite particularly proselytizing protests, I do not have the resources to go out and buy some open device on a whim. :[
Ellie Goulding - Halcyon: On a song-by-song basis, this album was variously good and alright. There were only a couple of really good moments. The writing felt way too vague for the emotional depth she was trying to convey, and really overall the whole album felt vague and kind of nebulous...so impersonal. Which could be fine on its own, but she wanted to make a more personal album, which is even evident in the songs' subjects. It doesn't feel...like anything specific, really, just a collection of songs. That's where it fails. Not to mention she really seemed out of her depth, like she was overreaching and trying to make a really artistic statement but it feels amateur coming from her. Since it's only her second album, that's not much of a surprise. My favourite tracks were Anything Could Happen, I Know You Care and...Figure 8, I guess. Or Hanging On. I don't know.
Update to this: I just listened to the album again after having lost the tracks for a while and never bothering to get them again when I got a new iPod. It's amazing how much your perspective can broaden in five months. It kinda bored me before, but this time I really enjoyed it. I dunno if it was the circumstances when I heard it (I remember not being in a particularly good mood at the time and bitching about stuff), but I'm glad I relistened, because it was much nicer. I'd have to change my favourites to "Anything Could Happen", "Only You", "Joy", "Hanging On", and "Explosions".
Dr. Awkward - Boy Without a Fairy: This album
is offered on Dr. Awkward's website at a name-your-own-price deal, which is awesome. It may not appeal to anyone else (it's a rap album/EP using remixed instrumentals from Ocarina of Time to basically tell its narrative and poke a little fun at points), but I obviously had to get it. Overall, it wasn't bad, but I'm a massive Zelda nerd so...yeah. It's painfully cheesy at times (the title track comes to mind), but the remixed instrumentals and tracks like "Formulaic" that aren't afraid to riff on the game(s) made it worth it. It clocks in barely at 20 minutes, so it was good fun.
aivi & surasshu - The Black Box: This is another name-your-price album I got. This one's a little more interesting, because Aivi and Surasshu are each two very different artists. Aivi is a very talented pianist, while Surasshu is a chiptune musician. Why they decided to do an album together I don't know, but the result is surprisingly beautiful. They make the sounds work together rather than clash, and while they didn't utilize the differences in as interesting ways as I would've liked, the end result was still a very nice piece of work. It seemed to be more Aivi than Surasshu. Which I'm alright with—I absolutely adore piano—but I was hoping for a more 50/50 split. Ah well, either way, it was fantastic. :]