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Dido’s third album, Safe Trip Home, was released in late 2008. Over a year later, I’m still listening and trying to form an opinion about it.
I should say it’s a very good album. It’s just not I’m No Angel (1999) or Life for Rent (2003). There are no sing-to-the-rafters numbers like “Here with Me” or sweep-me-away tunes like “Sand in my Shoes” on this recording. It’s all toned down—quite a bit—and it takes a while to get used to.
Dido’s in fine voice throughout, and she plays many of the instruments herself, including her trademark recorder. Some of the songs are lively, some are slowed to crawling speed, but the overall effect is a relaxed, easy, laid-back sound that slowly seeps into your subconscious. It’s pleasant background music for a quiet dinner for two, or just lounging in the living room with a friend.
To me, there’s something about that voice. It can be seductive, melodic, persuasive, and very personal, beginning with the up-tempo “Don’t Believe in Love.” “Never Want to Say It’s Love” has a gentle groove that draws you in with lush layers of sound. “It Comes and It Goes” seems to take off, then it slows to a stop, then it resumes with plaintive vocals and a flourish of strings and French horns. It’s a small masterpiece.
The final tune is “Northern Skies,” a slow, stately almost-dirge that swells and transforms into something else. What, though, I can’t quite figure. Nearly nine minutes long, it’s hypnotic and strange, like those songs of the humpback whales.
As I said, I’m still forming an opinion about Safe Trip Home. Give me time; I should know in a year or two.
