Birdy (Birdy album)

Birdy is the debut studio album by English musician Birdy, released on 4 November 2011 by Atlantic Records. The album includes the singles "Skinny Love", "Shelter", "People Help the People" and "1901".

Birdy
Studio album by Birdy
Released	4 November 2011 (2011-11-04)
Studio	Abbey Road Studios, Angel Recording Studios, Dean Street Studios, RAK Studios (London, England) Eldorado Recording Studios (Burbank, California) The Mill House Studio (Lymington, England) River Studios (Southampton, England)
Genre	Folk indie folk indie pop indie rock
Length	44:02
Label	14th Floor Atlantic
Producer	Jim Abbiss Rich Costey James Ford Alex H. N. Gilbert Paul 'P-Dub' Walton
Birdy chronology
Birdy (2011) Live in London (2011)
Singles from Birdy
"Skinny Love" Released: 30 January 2011 "Shelter" Released: 3 June 2011 "People Help the People" Released: 28 October 2011 "1901" Released: 9 March 2012

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
AnyDecentMusic?	5.9/10[1]
Metacritic	61/100[2]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[3]
The Daily Telegraph	[4]
The Guardian	[5]
MusicOMH	[6]
NME	5/10[7]
The Observer	[8]
PopMatters	5/10[9]
Rolling Stone	[10]
Uncut	[11]

Birdy received lukewarm reception from critics. At Metacritic, the album received a score of 61 out of 100, based on 10 critics.[2] 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."[3] The BBC's Nick Levine called the album a "clever covers set... which points to a great future" for the singer.[12] "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.[6] 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."[8]

While praising "Birdy's simple piano/guitar arrangements and her own sweet voice", The Guardian's Caroline Sullivan found the album to be "pleasant but pointless".[5] 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."[4] 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."[9] Duncan Gillespie of NME dismissed the album as "an album of wet-indie covers".[7] 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."[10]

Singles

"Skinny Love" was released on 30 January 2011 as the first single from the album,[13] which was a cover of a song by American indie folk band Bon Iver. The cover reached a peak of number 17 on the UK Singles Chart.

"Shelter" was released as the second single from the album on 3 June 2011. The song covers a track by English indie pop group The xx and peaked at number 50 in the UK.

"People Help the People" was released as the album's third single on 28 October 2011.[14] The song is a cover of the song by English indie rock band Cherry Ghost and peaked at number 33 in the UK.

"1901" was released in the UK on 9 March 2012 as the album's fourth and final single. It is a cover of the song by French indie rock band Phoenix.

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"1901" (by Phoenix)	Thomas Pablo Croquet Christian Mazzalai Laurent Mazzalai Frederic Jean Joseph Moulin	Rich Costey	5:11
2.	"Skinny Love" (by Bon Iver)	Justin Vernon	Alex H. N. Gilbert	3:23
3.	"People Help the People" (by Cherry Ghost)	Simon John Aldred	James Ford	4:16
4.	"White Winter Hymnal" (by Fleet Foxes)	Robin Noel Pecknold	Ford	2:17
5.	"The District Sleeps Alone Tonight" (by The Postal Service)	Jimmy Tamborello Ben Gibbard	Jim Abbiss	4:44
6.	"I'll Never Forget You" (by Francis and the Lights)	Francis Farewell Starlite	Abbiss	3:47
7.	"Young Blood" (by The Naked and Famous)	Alisa Xayalith Thomas Brading Powers Aaron Phillip Short	Costey	4:04
8.	"Shelter" (by The xx)	Oliver David Sim Romy Anna Madley Croft James Thomas Smith	Abbiss Paul 'P-Dub' Walton^[a] Gilbert^[a]	3:44
9.	"Fire and Rain" (by James Taylor)	James V. Taylor	Ford	3:07
10.	"Without a Word"	Birdy	Costey	4:46
11.	"Terrible Love" (by The National)	Matthew Donald Berninger Aaron Brooking Dessner	Costey	4:43
Total length:				44:02

Deluxe edition bonus tracks[15]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
12.	"Comforting Sounds" (by Mew)	Jonas Bjerre Johan Wohlert Bo Madsen Silas Jørgensen	Costey	8:57
13.	"Farewell and Goodnight" (by The Smashing Pumpkins)	James Iha	Abbiss	2:02
14.	"People Help the People" (RAK Studios Session)	Aldred		4:17
Total length:				59:18

Australian special edition bonus tracks[16]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
12.	"Just a Game"	Van den Bogaerde	T Bone Burnett	3:51
13.	"What You Want" (by John Butler Trio)	John Butler	Abbiss	4:12
Total length:				52:05

Notes

• ^{^a} signifies an additional producer

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Birdy.[17]

Birdy – vocals, piano Jim Abbiss – drum machine, production Leo Abrahams – effects, guitar Ben Baptie – mixing assistance Jess Barratt – management Rupert Bogarde – engineering James Brown – engineering Ian Burdge – cello Greg Calbi – mastering Matt Chamberlain – drums, percussion Alessandro Cortini – synthesisers Rich Costey – engineering, mixing, noise, production, strange noises, synthesisers Paul Craig – management Neil Cowley – organ, piano Dan Curwin – back cover photograph Ian Dowling – engineering Lauren Dukoff – photography

Tom Elmhirst – mixing James Ford – drums, guitar, percussion, production Wally Gagel – bass Alex H. N. Gilbert – A&R, additional production, executive production, production, studio photography Kirk Hellie – guitar Gareth Henderson – engineering Chris Kasych – assistant engineering Alex MacNaghten – bass Stephen Webster Mair – double bass Jamie Muhoberac – keyboards, piano, synthesisers Audrey Riley – string arrangements, string conducting Lucy Shaw – cello Christian Tattersfield – executive production Christopher Tombling – orchestra leader Paul 'P-Dub' Walton – additional production, engineering, mixing Richard Woodcraft – engineering

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2011–13) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA)[18] 1 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[19] 14 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[20] 1 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[21] 2 Canadian Albums (Billboard)[22] 33 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[23] 1 French Albums (SNEP)[24] 5 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[25] 14 Irish Albums (IRMA)[26] 40 Italian Albums (FIMI)[27] 55 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[28] 4 Polish Albums (ZPAV)[29] 13 Scottish Albums (OCC)[30] 18 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[31] 52 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[32] 3 UK Albums (OCC)[33] 13 US Billboard 200[34] 62 US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[35] 12 US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[36] 15

Year-end charts Chart (2011) Position Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[37] 74 Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[38] 42 Chart (2012) Position Australian Albums (ARIA)[39] 10 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[40] 3 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[41] 7 Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[42] 3 French Albums (SNEP)[43] 12 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[44] 70 UK Albums (OCC)[45] 179 Chart (2013) Position Australian Albums (ARIA)[46] 73 French Albums (SNEP)[47] 30 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[48] 73 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[49] 49 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[50] 14 Decade-end charts Chart (2010-2019) Position Australian Albums (ARIA)[51] 58

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[52]	2× Platinum	140,000^^
Austria (IFPI Austria)[53]	Gold	10,000^*
Belgium (BEA)[54]	Platinum	30,000^*
Denmark (IFPI Denmark)[55]	Gold	10,000^*
France (SNEP)[56]	3× Platinum	300,000^*
Germany (BVMI)[57]	Platinum	200,000^^
Netherlands (NVPI)[58]	Platinum	50,000^^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[59]	Gold	7,500^^
Poland (ZPAV)[60]	Gold	10,000^*
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[61]	Platinum	30,000^^
United Kingdom (BPI)[62]	Gold	180,457[63]
^*sales figures based on certification alone ^^shipments figures based on certification alone

Release history

Region	Date	Label	Ref.
Belgium	4 November 2011	Warner	[64]
Ireland		14th Floor Atlantic	[65]
United Kingdom	7 November 2011		[66]
Netherlands	11 November 2011	Warner	[67]
United States	20 March 2012	Warner Bros.	[68]
Germany	23 March 2012	Warner	[69]
Poland	26 March 2012		[70]
Australia	20 April 2012		[71]
France	30 April 2012		[72]

References

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63. Jones, Alan (1 April 2016). "Official Charts Analysis: Zayn's Mind of Mine tops the Official Albums Chart". Music Week. Intent Media. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
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External links

• Birdy at Discogs (list of releases)
• Birdy at MusicBrainz (list of releases)