Have you ever thought something was effortless? Maybe it was a piece of art somebody drew or painted, maybe it was someone singing a solo at a choir concert, or maybe it was a video someone edited that looks amazing. You know that it took them ages to master what they do, but you still can't quite fathom how easy it looks. It may elicit jealousy, but, really, you're more amazed than envious because OMG THEY'RE SO AMAZING!
That was my reaction when I first caught wind of Birdy at 14. A girl who went to my junior high (and who also goes to my high school) sang her rendition of Bon Iver's "Skinny Love" at the talent show my 8th grade year while two dancers accompanied it, and I was blown away by it all. I had to find the original source, and when I did, I couldn't believe it. Birdy had first recorded that cover when she was only 14? She played piano on most of her material? She wrote her own songs, one that was even featured on The Hunger Games soundtrack? I had found my dream artist right here!
Later that spring I got the treat to listening to her second release and debut album of all original songs (aside from "Skinny Love" and another cover, "People Help the People", because if you didn't buy the first album, look, bonus goodies!), Fire Within, on iTunes Radio's First Play (back when that still existed), a week before it was supposed to be released in the US. I was blown away by the way she wrote love songs and by her absolutely beautiful voice that was delicate and strong. There were sad pieces, there were happy ones, and some not even focused on couples but rather on family and friends, and it pretty much made me happy for a while and inspired my songwriting. Of course, revisiting it later raised my appreciation for it, but I kept Birdy in the back of my mind to turn to whenever I needed to play Pandora. Her appearances in The Fault in Our Stars movie were met with praise by me in the meantime.
However, that all changed when, just as 2015 ended, a new single announcement came that I wasn't expecting. "Keeping Your Head Up" was officially released on the first day of the new year, and I was completely floored. Sure, the production was more pop-flavored and packed to the brim with explosive percussion, but it was still Birdy. Her voice had matured and was more powerful than ever, the piano came back with a vengeance, and there was something more distinctly uplifting with the lyrics that I had never heard before. It was a taste of what was to come, and I couldn't wait to see what would happen.
Fast forward a couple weeks later and we had an album announcement, two months later there was a sampler on Apple Music at the end of spring break (which I still think was the work of God itself), and a week later, the album was here and I listened to it all gleefully. Now that it's been out for half a year already, articulating my thoughts instead of earlier (whoops), what did I think of Beautiful Lies? Was it the worst of a deceitful lie, or was it straightforward and actually beautiful?
