Dido – Still On My Mind
Still On My Mind sees Dido experiment with pop to dance to electronica in her most engaging album to date
Twenty years ago, Dido Armstrong released her debut album No Angel with songs that grabbed the attention of the world. With that solid foundation, she released Life for Rent in 2003 which was a decent follow-up. However, a light that was once bright gradually became dull with the blandness that came with her last two outputs, Safe Trip Home and Girl Who Got Away. Although her back catalogue is filled with some monotonous lullabies, songs like Thank You, Life for Rent, White Flag and Here With Me feature the sweet, melodic and atmospheric vignettes that have attracted millions of listeners to her music.
Reemerging, six years since Girl Who Got Away, with her fifth studio album, the British hitmaker has arguably created the most colourful, entertaining and creative album in her discography. Compared to previous materials, Still On My Mind is more seasoned. From pop to dance and electronic, Dido experiments with ingredients she has never used while poetically creating tales that teeter between love and heartbreak. On Still On My Mind and Chances, her voice is wrapped in regret as she reminisces about an old lover. Meanwhile, on the poppier Mad Love and the emotional Have to Say, she describes what it’s like to stay in a relationship through the thick and thin of love: 'When your words don’t sound as sweet anymore / I’ll listen to what you say', she sings on the latter.
Dido is an artist known for creating simple and beautiful songs. Although her familiar intimate voice is fully present and her caressing rhythm remains gentle, every song on the album is decorated with creative elements that transform the simplicity in her sound to a dynamic piece of art. Still On My Mind is Dido’s most engaging album to date. It’s her first time trying a style of music that connects multiple genres as well as retaining her original sound and she’s delivered a masterful creation in one take.
Listen to: Mad Love