Beautiful Lies (Birdy album)

Last updated

Beautiful Lies
Birdy - Beautiful Lies.png
Studio album by
Released25 March 2016 (2016-03-25)
Recorded2014–2015
Studio
  • RAK (London)
  • Rokstone (London)
  • State of the Ark (London)
  • The Music Shed (London)
  • Sarm (London)
Genre
Length52:49
Label Atlantic
Producer
Birdy chronology
Breathe
(2013)
Beautiful Lies
(2016)
Piano Sketches
(2020)
Singles from Beautiful Lies
  1. "Keeping Your Head Up"
    Released: 30 December 2015
  2. "Wild Horses"
    Released: 11 March 2016
  3. "Words"
    Released: 20 June 2016
  4. "Hear You Calling"
    Released: 6 October 2016

Beautiful Lies is the third studio album by British musician Birdy, released on 25 March 2016 by Atlantic Records. The album includes the singles "Keeping Your Head Up", "Wild Horses", "Words", and "Hear You Calling".

Contents

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic 73/100 [1]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [2]
Entertainment Weekly B+ [3]
The Irish Times Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [4]
The Guardian Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [5]
PopCrush Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [6]

Beautiful Lies received generally positive reviews from critics. At Metacritic, the album received a score of 73 on Metacritic based on four reviews. [7] AllMusic senior editor Neil Z. Yeung commended Birdy's "evolution from acoustic covers singer to confident and powerful artist" and stated, that the album "brings a depth that pulls Birdy from Ingrid Michaelson territory and into a scene occupied by Lorde, Florence, and Lana [Del Rey]." He felt that "with more life, richer texture, and an inspiring attitude, Beautiful Lies is Birdy's declaration that she is more than able to make her mark in the big leagues and join the ranks of the alternative pop pantheon". [2] Marc Snetiker of Entertainment Weekly gave the album a B+ rating and noted that "Beautiful Lies places her square in the middle of the indie pop realm [...] Her third album is her own testament to talent and her proof that she's only dipping her toe into the tropes of her genre to spring upward from them and float onto a cloud all her own." [3]

Dave Simpson of The Guardian called the album "certainly an adult-oriented, mainstream affair [that] has an intriguing, almost eastern feel". [5] The Irish Times writer Tony Clayton-Lea felt the songs on Beautiful Lies showcased Birdy's songwriting abilities, with "telltale names indicating a smart artist getting to grips with the differences between inexperience and hard knocks." He added that "notwithstanding leaf or two taken from the Lorde handbook, Birdy delivers a special brand of off-centre pop music that directly reference her transition from teenager to adult." [4]

Track listing

Standard edition
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Growing Pains" Jim Abbiss 3:49
2."Shadow"
  • Abbiss
  • Hartman [a]
4:01
3."Keeping Your Head Up"
3:28
4."Deep End"
3:28
5."Wild Horses"
3:05
6."Lost It All"Van den Bogaerde
  • Bran
  • Kerr
  • Birdy
3:47
7."Silhouette"
  • Van den Bogaerde
  • Simon Aldred
  • Rosie Doonan
  • Bran
  • Kerr
4:10
8."Lifted"
  • Bran
  • Kerr
4:23
9."Take My Heart"Van den Bogaerde
  • Felix Joseph
  • Birdy
4:11
10."Hear You Calling"
  • Van den Bogaerde
  • Hector
  • Mac
Mac4:01
11."Words"
Al Shux 3:37
12."Save Yourself"
  • Bran
  • Kerr
3:34
13."Unbroken"
  • Van den Bogaerde
  • Aldred
  • Bran
  • Kerr
4:25
14."Beautiful Lies"
  • Van den Bogaerde
  • Romans
  • Birdy
  • Romans
2:50
Total length:52:49
Deluxe edition bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
15."Beating Heart"
  • Van den Bogaerde
  • Romans
  • Bran
  • Kerr
3:50
16."Winter"Van den Bogaerde
  • Bran
  • Kerr
5:06
17."Give Up"
TMS4:00
18."Start Again"
Abbiss3:24
Total length:69:09
iTunes Store bonus track
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
19."Wings" (Acoustic)
3:42
Total length:72:51
Japanese edition bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
19."Let It All Go"
  • Van den Bogaerde
  • Rhodes
  • James Kenosha [c]
4:41
20."Lights"Van den Bogaerde Jamie Scott 4:44
Total length:77:35

Notes

Personnel

Musicians

Technical

Visuals

Charts

Certifications

Certifications for Beautiful Lies
RegionCertification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI) [34] Gold100,000

Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

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