"Ellis-Bextor returns to Harcourt with Familia (released September 2), an autumnal record, literally and figuratively. The crisp arrangements are organic, built on bass, guitar, piano and drums. But Harcourt and Ellis-Bextor reference a range of pop styles with details like the bubbling synths on "The Death Of Love" and the power chords that launch the album's galloping opener, "Wild Forever." The widescreen love song "Crystallise," which ranks among Bextor's finest, has a lush chorus ribboned with violin ... What Familia ultimately recalls is the era of female singer-songwriters. Like predecessor Carly Simon, Ellis-Bextor knows that a lifelong career is built on a certain amount of risk-taking. "Why be so ordinary? Why just conform?" she questions on "Wild Forever." Familia, released on her own record label, is the sound of an artist making the music she wants to make".