English singer and songwriter Birdy has dropped her fourth studio album ‘Young Heart’ today. She announced the album release on 22nd January with a new single ‘Surrender’, which is the fifth song in the 16-track album. Birdy’s last album was released in 2016 – ‘Young Heart’ marks her full length-record for the first time in five years. She explained the reason behind the long break, saying that she had “writer’s block” and that “this record is a heartbreak album” so she “needed some space to deal with that and feel herself again”.
In an interview with Atwood Magazine, she expanded on key themes within the album: “‘Young Heart’ is about heartbreak, internal conflict, fate, and new beginnings. This album has a 70’s Laurel Canyon feel to it, a lot of it was written in Topanga Canyon in LA, and I hope it takes listeners to that place.”
When asked about her favourite track in the album, she said: “The first song I wrote for the album was “Young Heart”, and so I’ve always felt that song is the core of the record. It’s probably the most emotionally charged song for me, so it was such a relief to finish it and feel really happy with how it turned out.”
Y O U N G H E A R T is finally hereeeee
i’ve been holding on to some of these songs for four years & I can’t believe that they’re in the world…I really hope you love this album as much as I do & thank you so much to anyone who’s bought a copy! https://t.co/QBMuE3da6W pic.twitter.com/YCSao0Pdw9— Birdy (@birdy) April 30, 2021
The 24-year-old artist is best known for her cover of Bon Iver’s ‘Skinny Love’, which entered many charts across the globe. Birdy has released three albums prior to ‘Young Heart’ – ‘Birdy’ in 2011, ‘Fire Within’ in 2013 and ‘Beautiful Lies’ in 2016. Many of her songs including ‘Not About Angels’ and ‘Ghost in the Wind’ have featured in films such as ‘The Fault in Our Stars’, ‘The Hunger Games’ and ‘The Edge of Seventeen’, where the nostalgic and emotional aspects of her music have incorporated perfectly with coming-of-age genres.
‘Young Heart’ is out now on all streaming platforms and can be listened to below.
