Birdy
Birdy

THE REVIEW

Behind the pseudonym "Birdy" we find a sixteen-year-old English girl who I honestly believe possesses great talent. Some may have recently discovered her thanks to her performance on the Ariston stage and the subsequent reissue of her debut album, a self-titled album nonetheless recent: in a now very sadly trivial stage like Sanremo, her star definitely shone on everyone as she performed with her cover of Bon Iver's "Skinny Love," the second song on the album; followed by "People help the people," where she weaves a beautiful piano melody for a simple piece, but one filled with sadness, and perhaps even faith where rationality cannot bring comfort. The following track also begins in the same way, another perfectly fitting melody, with the voice enhanced by an echo effect that amplifies its purity, and lyrics that have a slight folk and childlike inflection.

The lyrics in the next song continue to evoke a dramatic and poetic wonder; too much for Birdy's young age who in fact is not the author of the lyrics (all indie covers). On "I'll never forget you" there is always some effect on the voice, while the following track also features synths and keyboards, evoking a dreamy atmosphere.

"Shelter" returns to the steps of the first songs, being a bit more bare without the percussion and with just the piano, but also possibly less melodramatic. We then find a piece written by Birdy, namely "Without a word," still very pleasant, although perhaps not as inspired as other songs on the album, or like the subsequent "Terrible love," where we find a verse repeated like a mantra until a very beautiful tempo change with strings arrives.

The album concludes beautifully with two more covers (Mew; Smashing Pumpkins); added in the reissue along with two others from before, by Francis and the lights and James Taylor; these are also excellent tracks, Mew's one above all, where we find a beautiful instrumental part at the end.

It is undoubtedly a choral work, which I personally appreciated immensely, also because I fundamentally did not know almost any of the covered authors, but especially thanks to the beautiful voice of Jasmine Van den Bogaerde. Recommended especially for those who appreciated (about half the world more or less) authors like Adele, and a bit less Emeli Sandé because she is too radio-friendly.