Birdy

Birdy is the debut studio album by English musician Birdy, released on 4 November 2011 by 14th Floor Records and Atlantic Records. The album includes the singles "Skinny Love", "Shelter", "People Help the People" and "1901". Critical reception Birdy received lukewarm reception from critics. At Metacritic, the album received a score of 61 out of 100, based on 10 critics. AllMusic's Jon O'Brien wrote that "this stripped-back collection of lesser-known hits and album tracks reads like a who's who of lo-fi hipster indie rock", praising Birdy's "youthful and fragile" voice and concluding that "thanks to her haunting tones and a tasteful yet compelling production, it impressively avoids being the try-hard affair you'd expect." The BBC's Nick Levine called the album a "clever covers set... which points to a great future" for the singer. "With a voice that defies her tender years, Birdy... has found herself very quickly touted as one of the brightest up-and-coming talents in the UK," Andy Baber of MusicOMH wrote. Hermione Hoby of The Observer praised her covers of "Skinny Love" and "Shelter", while noting that the self-written track "Without a Word" "suggests she might become even more than just a startling voice." While praising "Birdy's simple piano/guitar arrangements and her own sweet voice", The Guardians Caroline Sullivan found the album to be "pleasant but pointless". James Lachno of The Daily Telegraph wrote that the album "consolidates the buzz with more sparse, affecting covers, and a lone original track that is adequately folkish, but for now Birdy remains a novelty." Chris Conaton of PopMatters wrote that Birdy "proves that she can really sing; but [her] appeal may depend on how much enjoy desperate, aching piano ballads, because there are a lot of them here." Duncan Gillespie of NME dismissed the album as "an album of wet-indie covers". Rolling Stone critic Jody Rosen was more critical, panning the album as "the most boring music ever recorded by a teenager" and concluding, "No one so young should have such flawless taste in Quality Indie Rock, or sound this bummed out."