Dido Safe Trip Home Review
British Singer Returns with Follow Up to Life For Rent & No Angel
Dec 9, 2008
“I wanna go to bed with arms around me, and wake up on my own” Dido sings on “Don’t Believe in Love”, the opening to her new album of minimal pop tunes, Safe Trip Home.
And it’s with these confused sentiments that the British songbird, who blasted onto the world music map back in 2000 after Eminem used a sample of her track “Thank You” in his now classic “Stan”, reveals a woman at the height of her career and in touch with her talents. But unlike on past records, No Angel and Life for Rent, Dido strays from the electronics, giving her voice and the music a stripped down, organic feel.
Safe Trip Home
Every so often an artist releases an album that makes listeners feel warm and soothed, like drinking hot chocolate outside on a cold November evening, yet not safe enough to get too comfortable. Safe Trip Home does just that. Like Kanye West on his last recording, she has opened up and let the listener in.
Once she has the floor, Dido has plenty to say about love, or the lack there of, and life from losing a parent (“Grafton Street”) to moving on after deep emotional distress, loss, and reflecting on what could have been (“Look No Further”), plus she does it with minimalist beauty and sonic harmony.
The Day Before the Day
While many critics cast low-key female artists such as Enya and Dido aside, equating their musical styles as the equivalent to sonic wallpaper, what they fail to remember is that Dido’s albums work equally well playing in the background muffled by dinner party chatter, as they do in quiet times when attention can be paid to the quality of her work.
Safe Trip Home deserves close listening. This is appointment music – tracks that should be savored like a cherished gift. And while much has been written about the airy popcorn quality of her voice, stripped of interfering electronics and over production as it is on this record, Dido reveals a strong voice that carries biting, often chilling lyrics, with as much ease and grace as a summer breeze blows sheets drying on a line.
Quiet Times
A highly personal album, Safe Trip Home often feels like it reveals too much, like stealing glimpses inside her very personal diary.
While at times Dido is saddened by lost friends and lovers (“Quiet Times”), the anticipation of love (“Burnin Love”) deceased parents (“Grafton Street”) and a chance to undo red letter days (“The Day Before the Day”), she returns to her “Northern Skies” and along with it stronger electronics towards the uplifting end of her album.
At times truly haunting and at others deeply touching, Safe Trip Home grows deeper and more intimate with repeated listening. Dido may have taken five years to release her latest album, but it’s every bit worth the wait.
Dido Safe Trip Home is available now.
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