Anything Could Happen

Ellie Goulding’s this precise, careful pop artist with a voice like glass—sharp and clear and somehow fragile at the same time. Anything Could Happen caught me because it doesn’t try to be more than it is, just this quiet moment of optimism that doesn’t feel desperate or cheap. You forget sometimes that pop can work that way, just by being honest. I can’t tell anymore if I actually like Ellie or just remember where that song landed in my life, but that’s the whole thing about pop music—they’re usually the same thing.