Safe Trip Home

This English chanteuse takes her time and immerses herself in placid, soothing soundscapes that compliment her smooth, pretty voice to the point where you might miss the emotional insecurities that run just beneath the surface. On just her third solo album since her 1999 debut, Dido continues her streak of attractive adult-contemporary pop. “Don’t Believe In Love” and “Never Want to Say It’s Love” use Jon Brion’s creamy keyboards and steadying production hand to hide the tough questions facing lovers at any point of introspection. Brian Eno adds his extra flourishes to “Grafton Street”, a six-minute ethereal moan through flute-inspired fields of remorse. Mick Fleetwood, Citizen Cope and Questlove from the Roots make cameo appearances that strengthen the tunes in subtle ways. But it’s still Dido’s show. It’s her melancholy that shadows the sweet melodies of “It Comes and It Goes” and “Northern Skies” and paces the slow mourn of the piano ballad “Look No Further”.  “Us 2 Little Gods” adds an extra skip-step for balance, while “Let’s Do the Things We Normally Do” pushes through with a nightclub ambience, but it’s only a diversion from the ominous clouds that circle her existence.