Dido's first album was released in the U.S. in the summer of 1999, and I was 26 at the time. I didn't hear about her until 2001. That's when "Thank You" seemed to gain traction from "No Angel". That album was okay, and it was then that I realized I had already heard her without knowing I'd heard her. Yep, in 1996 I bought her brother, Rollo's band's, Faithless' debut album "Reverence" for the song "Insomnia". That album was okay, and then I all but forgot about Dido by the time "Thank You" rolled around. After that, I continued to follow Dido with "Life For Rent", "Safe Trip Home" and "Girl Who Got Away".

Generally, Dido makes decent albums. It's arguable whether she's actually made four star albums as each one of her five albums contains some filler and/or devolves into a sort of formless mush due to her overreliance on similar tempos and soundscapes and singing style. In a way, like Enya, each album is not all that different from her others.

So, here we have "Still On My Mind", her first album in six years, and the longest gap between albums. What do we get? Well, more of the same, really, but she's good at this. Lyrically, she can be a bit on the dull side, generally speaking, but she manages to create some interesting things here like "Hurricanes" with its swirling center. "Give You Up" with its "I am over you" message delivered in surrounding lush music. The rather odd "Hell After This" sounds a bit wooden and stilted. "You Don't Need a God" only what you have in front of you. "Take You Home" is upbeat but repetitive. "Some Kind of Love" is an interesting story about growing up. "Still On My Mind" was kind of a weak track here, and it didn't really stick with me after multiple listens. "Mad Love" is an interesting reggae groove, which is different for Dido. "Walking By", "Friends" and "Chances" are all pretty good. Finally, "Have to Stay" a letter to her son is a good way to end the album.

So, overall, another good album by Dido. I sort of wish, like Enya, she would take more artistic chances with her music rather than stay in her comfort zone. But, she has hit upon a formula that works for her, so I doubt we'll ever hear anything different.

Here's how "Still On My Mind" compares to Dido's other works:

1999 No Angel: Three Stars
2003 Life For Rent: Four Stars
2008 Safe Trip Home: Three and a Half Stars
2013 Girl Who Got Away: Four Stars
2019 Still On My Mind: Four Stars

Brand	N/A
Rating	4.7 (1425 ratings)
Price	$11.33
Category	Ambient

Still on My Mind

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