Make a Scene (Sophie Ellis-Bextor)

EN “Make a Scene” is the fourth studio album by English singer-songwriter Sophie Ellis-Bextor, released in Russia on 18 April 2011 by Universal Music Group and in the United Kingdom on 13 June 2011 by her own label EBGB. The album began to be thought of when the track “Heartbreak (Make Me a Dancer)”, was released, in mid-2009, but after some singles and disagreements with the previous label, Fascination, there was a need to reformulate some ideas and take the album to a personal label, so this wasn't one of those projects canceled and stored in a drawer. Therefore, we must thank the singer for her resilience for putting this album in the ears of the world.

As previously stated, “Heartbreak (Make Me a Dancer)” was the "chief car", released on June 14, 2009, produced by the DJ's Freemasons, with a house/dance style and a catchy chorus, a success ready to be enjoyed on a dance floor. The second single, “Can't Fight This Feeling”, a collaboration with the French DJ Junior Caldera, continues in this dance style, telling a sort of love story, which is lived in the middle of the dance floor, showing that love can be, precisely, anywhere. Next comes the one that, for many, is considered the real first single of the project, but that is in fact the third single, which is the track “Bittersweet”, my favorite track from the project. The first time I heard this track was through its demo version, which came to the internet even before the official release, and what happened? The final version eventually had to be changed and, in turn, the demo version was improved and became one of the official remixes of the track, with this remix being in charge of the Freemasons producers. The fourth single, "Not Giving Up on Love", a collaboration with Armin van Buuren, is another dance track, but with a light spirit and that takes us to one of those warm summer nights, in an outdoor space and with a cool drink in hand. Finally, the last official single comes out, “Starlight”, her first single released as an independent artist with her label EBGB's, very close to the international release of the album, on June 5, which although not as danceable as the other singles, has a captivating beat that, though soft, is catchy.

“Make a Scene", which was not supposed to exist and was just to be a collection of singles and some extra tracks, turns out to be a cohesive work in its entirety, there being a lot of attention to detail so that each of the tracks could complement each other. And we must also highlight the fact that the artist has a characteristic voice that is incredibly shaped to this dance/pop style. However, her personality and vocal power are also revealed through the last tracks of the album, namely in “Synchronized”, another one of my favorite tracks, where the mix of synthesizers and a melody full of details give rise to an angelic song, and the way the chorus ends, in a kind of suspension, should be exalted, making it even more exuberant.

For a large part of critics, this was not the best successor to “Trip The Light Fantastic" (2007), criticizing the fact that the singer has reused the tracks that have been released over the years to compose a project done overnight. It is certain that some of the lyrics, and even instrumentals, could have been improved and adapted to the style of most of the tracks already used for the project, but it may have been a choice of the singer, considering that this is her first independent project, and it ends up being her responsibility what enters or not in each album. In my opinion, this album does not have any kind of flaw, being even my favorite of the artist, and I think that considering all the circumstances and battles to release it, I think it was very well conceived. "Make a Scene” may even be a two-half scene, but there's no lack of elegance, class, and pop sensibility throughout.

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