For her fourth studio album, Dido has come back from her break and has arrived with a product that is a distinct reflection on time away from her music, and perhaps some personal experiences she has had along the way. There is a clear story of the suffering of a broken relationship, and the blend of heart break with songs of encouragement make this album relatable to a broad audience whom have all felt and may be feeling these same emotions.
There are the elements of the sound which she is known for, but she also experiments with dance rhythms, and whilst enjoying the diversity of the sound, the changing between the dance and acoustic sound was a bit too much and felt very choppy. The reverb added to her voice on many tracks was somewhat over done and in some ways inappropriate.
In ‘Girl Who Got Away’, with the reverb taken out through the verses and used only within the chorus, I found myself enjoying hearing the clarity of her voice. The bass line of this track created a real sense of intrigue at the beginning and I was looking forward to how it would unfold. As the title track of the album I had a higher expectation, and compared to the rest of the album, it did not let me down. It had the smooth combination of the gentle acoustic sound with the dance track subtly included, and gives us a real feel for the tone of the whole record.
Whilst some tracks worked well with the dance style sound, I didn’t enjoy ‘End of Night’ as her vocals, and perhaps the lyrics also, simply didn’t fit with the music behind it. I felt uncomfortable listening and found myself skipping to the next track.
‘Freedom’ reminds those within a relationship that there needs to be the element of freedom and individuality. There was a reggae influence, and I like how complimentary the backing vocals are, as it adds a sense of reinforcement and support which aligns with the unfolding story. Ultimately, these links build a stronger connection between the artist and listener. It is quite a catchy song despite its tone, and I found myself dancing and humming by the third chorus.
I personally connected with the chorus of ‘Let Us Move On’ through the lyrics of “Let us move on, for this is short, and it will pass”. I feel that when a listener can relate personally to lyrics such as this, the connection to the song and artist becomes stronger.
I really lost interest in the first 20 seconds of ‘Blackbird’, with the cutting off of the lyrics in the beginning felt awkward. As it progresses the vocal speed increased and I felt it didn’t suit her style and sound, however, removing the reverb from her voice within this track kept my attention enough to listen to the end and hear out the song.
While this record is telling a story of the past feelings and emotions, it has a strong sense of hope and encouragement to the future. As a ‘comeback’ album, we get to hear an older and wiser artist behind the stories of each track, it is a great deal more analytical with a higher level of experience behind it, ultimately I feel this makes it a great album to invest in.
RCA
5/10
Reviewer: Courtney Laura