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". It reached the top ten of the music charts in six countries.

Singles "Skinny Love" was released on 30 January 2011 as the first single from the album, 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. 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.

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."

Track listing

Notes signifies an additional producer.

Personnel Credits were adapted from the liner notes.

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 Alex H. N. Gilbert – 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 + Weekly chart performance for Birdy Chart (2011–2013) Peakposition Canadian Albums (Nielsen SoundScan) 33

Year-end charts + 2011 year-end chart performance for Birdy Chart (2011) Position Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) 74 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) 42

+ 2012 year-end chart performance for Birdy Chart (2012) Position Australian Albums (ARIA) 10 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) 3 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) 7 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) 3 French Albums (SNEP) 12 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) 70 UK Albums (OCC) 179

+ 2013 year-end chart performance for Birdy Chart (2013) Position Australian Albums (ARIA) 73 French Albums (SNEP) 30 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) 73 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) 49 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) 14

Decade-end charts + Decade-end chart performance for Birdy Chart (2010–2019) Position Australian Albums (ARIA) 58

Certifications

Release history + Release history for Birdy Region Date Label Belgium 4 November 2011 Warner Ireland United Kingdom 7 November 2011 Netherlands 11 November 2011 Warner United States 20 March 2012 Warner Bros. Germany 23 March 2012 Warner Poland 26 March 2012 Australia 20 April 2012 France 30 April 2012

References

External links