Dido: Girl Who Got Away

The much-maligned Dido has had a rough old time of it. She found mainstream recognition more than 12 years ago via a sample from

Thank You

(off her 1999 album,

No Angel

) on Eminem’s hit single,

Stan

, and immediately lost whatever cooler-than-thou status she had enjoyed. Since then she’s been on the receiving end of critical stick for being far too mellow for words. The naysayers will have their usual field day with

Girl Who Got Away

, Dido’s first album since 2008’s

Safe Trip Home

, but there are some really lovely, low-key, electronica-imbued pop songs here (notably, the title track,

Blackbird

and

Day Before We Went to War

) courtesy of collaborations with her brother Rollo (who, mostly with Dido herself, co-produced),

Brian Eno

,

Greg Kurstin

, Rizzle Kicks and

Kendrick Lamar

.

didomusic.com

Download:

Girl Who Got Away

,

Blackbird