Fire Within (Birdy album)

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Released16 September 2013 (2013-09-16)
Recorded2012–2013
Length43:43
Label
Fire Within
A black-and-white photo of the artist staring straight into the camera. Her name is written in the top-left corner and the album's in the top-right.
Standard edition[a]
Studio album by
Birdy
Released16 September 2013 (2013-09-16)
Recorded2012–2013
Length43:43
Label
Producer
Birdy chronology
Birdy
(2011)		 Fire Within
(2013)		 Breathe
(2013)
Singles from Fire Within
  1. "Wings"
    Released: 29 July 2013
  2. "No Angel"
    Released: 23 September 2013
  3. "Light Me Up"
    Released: 23 February 2014
  4. "Words as Weapons"
    Released: 14 April 2014

Fire Within is the second studio album by English musician Birdy, released on 16 September 2013 by 14th Floor and Atlantic Records. It is her first album of predominantly original compositions, as her eponymous debut album consisted largely of covers. Birdy collaborated with several producers including Jim Abbiss, Rich Costey, Jake Gosling, John Hill, Ben Lovett, Eric Rosse, Fraser T Smith, Ryan Tedder, Dan Wilson and Greg Wells during its recording. The album includes the singles "Wings", "No Angel", "Light Me Up" and "Words as Weapons".

Fire Within received generally positive reviews from music critics. In North America, Fire Within was released on 3 June 2014. Prior to that, several album tracks and live versions of past songs were released as a US-only EP titled Breathe on 24 September 2013.[1][2] It reached the top ten of the charts in over ten countries, including the United Kingdom.

"It's an album of all originals and for me, that is very exciting! It's what I've always wanted to do. I had never thought of doing covers before "Skinny Love" so that was a different experience." [...] It was my first time co-writing and it was really weird because I've always been a writer on my own. It's weird to be open with someone you just met but I learned a lot and I love what we made."

— Birdy on Fire Within.[3]

Following the commercial success of her debut album Birdy (2011), Birdy decided for her second record to be mostly of original compositions instead of covering songs like in her previous album.[4] She noted that she began writing songs aged eight, and considers this album "very special" for her.[5] She also talked about her experience as a songwriter: "A lot of people thought [she couldn't write] but then it was good doing it by stealth so I could develop my own writing and have time to work on it."[6]

For Fire Within Birdy worked with various musicians during its recording including Ryan Tedder, Dan Wilson, Rich Costey, Ben Lovett from the British folk rock band Mumford & Sons, Tim Commerford from American rock band Rage Against the Machine, Paul Jackson Jr. and Omar Hakim.[7] She released a preview of the recording of the album through YouTube alongside the album's release date.[7] Birdy cited the changes of routine and relationships she had after her breakthrough work as a primarily influence for the album.[3]

Critical reception

Fire Within ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic66/100[8]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusicStarStarStarHalf star[9]
ContactmusicStarStarStarStar[10]
Daily Echo9/10[11]
Digital SpyStarStarStar[12]
Hot PressStarStarStarHalf star[13]
The IndependentStarStarStar[14]
Mail & GuardianStarStarStar[15]
MojoStarStar[16]
MusicOMHStarStarStar[17]
PopMatters7/10[18]
Time Out LondonStarStarStar[19]

Fire Within received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted mean rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 66, based on seven reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews".[8]

AllMusic praised the album as "a testament to [Birdy's] confidence in her own songwriting talent", while also highlighting the "fragility and intensity of her pure, unblemished vocals".[9] Digital Spy noted that despite contributions from high-profile writers such as Fraser T. Smith, Sia, Dan Wilson, Ben Lovett, and Ryan Tedder, "these songs very much sound like Birdy's own". While acknowledging that the album "won't change your life" and includes "far too much meandering in the middle", the review concluded that it doesn't need to be groundbreaking to be effective.[12] Hot Press offered a more critical perspective, questioning the authenticity behind the project, suggesting that it had been "ruthlessly machine-tooled by off-stage actors", namely Birdy's record label.[13] The Independent described Fire Within as Birdy's "she's not a little girl anymore" album, emphasizing her involvement in writing or co-writing every track and noting the album's more mature presentation.[14]

Track listing

Fire Within – Standard edition
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Wings"
4:12
2."Heart of Gold"Van den Bogaerde
3:34
3."Light Me Up"
4:15
4."Words as Weapons"
  • Van den Bogaerde
  • Tedder
Tedder3:59
5."All You Never Say"
Jim Abbiss4:38
6."Strange Birds"
  • Abbiss
  • Alex H. N. Gilbert[b]
3:03
7."Maybe"
  • Van den Bogaerde
  • Wilson
  • Abbiss
  • Wilson[a]
3:14
8."No Angel"
Abbiss4:03
9."All About You"
  • Van den Bogaerde
  • Wilson
  • Abbiss
  • Costey[a]
4:37
10."Standing in the Way of the Light"
Smith4:04
11."Shine"Van den BogaerdeAbbiss4:04
Total length:43:43
Fire Within – Deluxe edition (bonus tracks)
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
12."The Same"
Wells3:29
13."Dream"
  • Van den Bogaerde
  • Lovett
  • Lovett
  • Gilbert[a]
  • Jamie Muhoberac[a]
1:52
14."Older"Van den BogaerdeGilbert3:57
15."Home"
Gosling3:36
Total length:56:37
Fire Within – North American edition
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Skinny Love"Justin VernonGilbert3:23
2."Wings"
  • Van den Bogaerde
  • Tedder
  • Costey
  • Tedder
4:12
3."Heart of Gold"Van den BogaerdeCostey3:34
4."Light Me Up" (US version)
  • Van den Bogaerde
  • Harpoon
  • Costey
  • Tedder
  • Jerrod Bettis
3:59
5."Words as Weapons" (US version)
  • Van den Bogaerde
  • Tedder
Tedder3:41
6."All You Never Say" (US version)
  • Van den Bogaerde
  • Wilson
  • Hill
  • Wilson
4:28
7."Strange Birds"
  • Van den Bogaerde
  • Furler
  • Rechtshaid
Abbiss3:03
8."Maybe"
  • Van den Bogaerde
  • Wilson
Abbiss3:14
9."No Angel"
  • Van den Bogaerde
  • Lovett
Abbiss4:03
10."All About You"
  • Van den Bogaerde
  • Wilson
Abbiss4:37
11."Standing in the Way of the Light"
  • Van den Bogaerde
  • Smith
Smith4:04
12."Shine"Van den BogaerdeAbbiss4:04
13."People Help the People"Simon AldredJames Ford4:16
Total length:50:38

Notes

  • ^[a] signifies an additional producer.
  • ^[b] signifies a strings producer.

Charts

Certifications

Certifications for Fire Within
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[57] Gold 35,000^
Austria (IFPI Austria)[58] Gold 7,500*
France (SNEP)[59] Platinum 100,000*
Germany (BVMI)[60] Gold 100,000^
Hungary (MAHASZ)[61] Gold 1,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[62] Gold 10,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[63] Gold 103,786[64]

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Notes

References

External links

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