Birdy
Fire Within

Let's be clear: the generation of singers and musicians born in the '90s is certainly not shining for the quality of the music they are offering. In fact, among Justin Bieber, One Direction, Rihanna, and "beautiful" company, there is no shortage of choices when it comes to deciding which "artist" imposed on us by record companies is worse. However, there are exceptions that, fortunately, manage to ignite some glimmer of hope and a minimum of trust in the new generation of the music scene. Jasmine van den Bogaerde, known as Birdy, is one of these: born in 1996, she deservedly caught attention a couple of years ago with her self-titled debut containing almost exclusively covers, including a strikingly mature interpretation of Bon Iver's "Skinny Love" for a fifteen-year-old. But an entire album made only of reinterpretations (albeit well-chosen and far from trivial), while pleasant, was certainly not enough to clarify if the girl in question had actual artistic potential because one might have the most beautiful voice on this planet, but could easily waste it on insipid songs aimed only at making money (see: Mariah Carey).

It is therefore pleasing to note that Birdy indeed has artistic capabilities: despite showing some flaws perhaps due to the young age of the singer, the picture painted by the eleven (fifteen in the deluxe edition) original tracks of "Fire Within" is definitely successful and very encouraging for the future of this girl. Although she is only seventeen, Jasmine is in fact an incredibly intense and "mature" performer, capable of coloring every sonic tapestry tailored for her with vivid hues, without exceeding in virtuosity for its own sake and managing to stand several spans above all her peers. But Birdy is not just a voice; she's also a somewhat unripe but still skilled indie-pop composer and songwriter, able to captivate the listener with excellent piano-voice ballads ("No Angel", "Shine", "Strange Birds" and the splendid "Home"), as well as with more pop-tinged, yet still pleasant tracks (the single "Wings", "Heart of Gold"); and lastly, the episodes dominated by acoustic guitar ("All About You", "Words as Weapons", "Maybe") are not bad either, where some pleasant indie-folk reminiscence can be felt. Nothing particularly original, this must be said, but everything is carefully crafted and presented with the right honesty and will to do.

In short, Birdy is a nice revelation, in my opinion, alongside Diane Birch, one of the best young talents to have made their way in the music field in recent years. Let's be clear, we are not facing a new Kate Bush (and I fear that a debut like "The Kick Inside" will remain, alas, unmatched for a long time), but in a decadent pop scene like today's, finding even just a pleasant breath of fresh air like this cannot but be appreciated!

Score: 3.5