(2021) Birdy - Young Heart


Review:
Already onto their fourth studio album, Jasmine van den Bogaerde, better known as Birdy, is obviously doing better than alright for someone who’s not yet 25. Despite making a name for herself aged just 12, after winning the UK Open Mic competition, it’s definitely been more of a slow-burning success for the English singer. That this latest album, Young Heart, demonstrates an ever-growing maturity is obvious from the first listen. Written alongside Jamie Scott (with production by James Ford), it’s also solid evidence of Birdy’s natural ability as a sharp songwriter. And while the song selection on her self-titled debut album – which consisted exclusively of covers – revealed an artist whose musical tastes belied their years at the time of its release - the maturity that’s evident on Young Heart is of a different kind. Here, it’s more personal and considered. The themes are less upbeat than the stories that were spun on Birdy’s last album, Beautiful Lies, and it’s evident that loneliness and longing have formed much of the inspiration this time around. Gentle piano opener “The Witching Hour” sets a pleasant tone, before “Voyager” picks things up, with gorgeous melodies and a sense of yearning that’s never far away from here on in. “River Song” is breezy yet mournful, with more than a hint of Michael Kiwanuka’s soul about it, while Little Blue is gorgeous in its sparcity; a straight-from-the-heart story of loss. There are glimpses of hope in the story-telling towards the end too, best heard on title-track and closer “Young Heart”. It’s all too easy to overlook how spot-on Birdy sounds vocally on pretty much every track on this album, comfortably equalling more established artists in tone and style. Consequently, Young Heart is consistent from start to finish. While it won’t necessarily ruffle many feathers, it’s a coherent addition to an already charming catalogue from Birdy.





Tracklist:
1. The Witching Hour – Intro
2. Voyager
3. Loneliness
4. The Otherside
5. Surrender
6. Nobody Knows Me Like You Do
7. River Song
8. Second Hand News
9. Deepest Lonely
10. Lighthouse
11. Chopin Waltz in A Minor – Interlude
12. Evergreen
13. Little Blue
14. Celestial Dancers
15. New Moon
16. Young Heart


Media Report:
Genre: indie-folk, pop
Format: FLAC
Format/Info: Free Lossless Audio Codec, 16-bit PCM
Bit rate mode: Variable
Channel(s): 2 channels
Sampling rate: 44.1 KHz
Bit depth: 16 bits