Perhaps even
Dido
realized that the chief criticism lodged against her first two albums was that they were a bit too placid, so she decided to change things, albeit subtly, on her third,
Safe Trip Home
. This album appears five years after 2003's
Life for Rent
, which is only a year longer than the gap between
No Angel
and
Life
, yet it feels like it had a longer gestation:
's songs are subtler and richer, and so is the production, largely a collaboration with
Jon Brion
but also featuring
Brian Eno
on
"Grafton Street."
These are two of an impressive lineup of guests who range from
Mick Fleetwood
to
Citizen Cope
?uestlove
from
the Roots
, but don't be mistaken in thinking that this is a dramatic break from
's elegant, shimmering past: it's a deepening, adding layers and textures, both musical and emotional, that are apparent upon the first listen but reveal themselves more with repeat spins. This is less about the surface -- something that
could sometimes seem to be all about -- than what's underneath, as
's songs here gently hook their way into the subconscious on. There are melancholic edges, but it's not haunting, it's comforting, reassuring music that's quietly powerful, music that
hinted at before but never quite made. [A CD/DVD version was also released, containing bonus tracks and an enhanced "Dido Studio Film".] ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine