Safe Trip Home

Safe Trip Home, the third album from singer-songwriter Dido, sees the chanteuse cook up a slightly different ambience than on previous albums No Angel (1999) and Life for Rent (2003). Though her signature elements remain in place--the limited, slightly cracked falsetto; the dreamy, comforting trip-hop vibe--there seems to be an extra density to Safe Trip Home, doubtless provoked by the loss of her father in 2006. The added weight is predominantly in the lyrics, which tend to focus on loss and heartache, but there's extra detail and depth in the musicianship too, since Dido has been busy honing her skills as a multi-instrumentalist. Despite the denser themes, the music still drifts by in classic Dido style, moving smoothly through the insouciant "Don't Believe in Love", the aptly titled "Quiet Times", and "Never Want to Say It's Love", before arriving at the somber-yet-elegant six-minute standout "Grafton Street", co-written with Brian Eno and featuring Mick Fleetwood on drums. The rest of the album unfurls in similarly sophicticated fashion, featuring the folkish "Look No Further", the upbeat "Us 2 Little Gods" and a nine-minute poetic closer called "Northern Skies". Put simply, Safe Trip Home is Dido on superlative form. --Danny McKenna