Dido Thrives In Her New Role As The Girl Who Got Away

Dido is a definite coffee shop musical favorite. If "Here With Me" or "Thank You" is playing in the overhead sound system that's your cue to have a spot of tea or a steaming cup of java. Organic, earthy beverages to complement the angelic voice of an organic earthy artist. I salute her for taking her time coming out with new material. Peter Gabriel got into that delayed gratification zone in the '80s when he released "Security" in 1982, "So" in 1986, and then "Us" in 1992.Dido's released all of four albums in a 14 year span. She stands out from the cream of past and present female artists in that she approaches tension fraught subject material with a special wisdom. She's the golden angel high above the din whose ethereal presence delivers calm to the confused, dazed masses below. For her latest project "Girl Who Got Away" her ability to turn away from damaging entanglements of the past is irrefutable. She creates a triumphant splash with the title track which explores many day to day constructs of mood I bet any one of us has thought to ourselves during a moment of ennui. I too have some days I wish to stretch out as fast as possible. Those are the days I'm usually sorry to have to wave goodbye to. I want to dance every dance up until the end. Good for Dido for blending in a captivating tempo which complements her quest not to be stuck in rut mode for too long. "Sitting On The Roof of the World" gives you a ticket to the escapist voyage a title that grandiose hints at. The ever reliable unplugged guitar is as much a means for disarmament as a tousle of the hair or a thoughtfully prolonged hug. It's the support of a good man that plucked from any real or imagined peril. "No Freedom" is blessed with enough bounce to pry wallflowers from their seat but not so much hyperactivity that one can't fully digest the notion that shackled love isn't love...it's unwarranted slavery. "End of the Night" is so crisp it'll remind you of that last bag of Lay's potato chips you ate. Dido's done with an unworthy chap and is celebrating the night winding to a clothes. You may want to wrap a sweater around you during the listen or else the crosswinds will put icicles on your eyebrows. Pure neon glare and prickled slaps of truth in romantic disentanglement. "Blackbird" is also an electronic pastry waiting to be savored bite by bite. The track combines modern age with classical elegance as if they were meant to share the spotlight. As was the case with "End of the Night" distancing herself from a painful coupling is priority one. Dido slips through her own defense mechanism fog of piano melodrama to illustrate the angst she's cutting loose. "Happy New Year" slowly boils under a detached clickety clack drum pattern. Dido's trailing off into the night on the heels of a New Year's party that was a party for just about everybody but her. She gives her man a terse kiss off and then fades from view. Coming full circle on this review I bet none of the 11 tracks would go all that badly with Sleepytime Tea. All the better to mellow out after some shitheel got on your last nerve after promising he'd be the last man you'd ever need. "Girl Who Got Away" is a successful return to the scene for Dido because nowhere is she anything other than forthright about her feelings and how she plans to fend off any signs of poisonous energy. As is true with an angel, she's too high above the commotion to allow us to think she'll be permanently damaged by it.Whether she uses guitar, piano, or drums to fuel the fire of her miniature romantic stage plays, she's never at a loss for momentum. Dido knows how to wield it and earn respect respect from us for doing so.