• Record Label: Arista
  • Release Date: Nov 18, 2008
Metascore
74

Generally favorable reviews - based on 14 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 14
  2. Negative: 0 out of 14
  1. There are melancholic edges, but it's not haunting, it's comforting, reassuring music that's quietly powerful, music that Dido hinted at before but never quite made.
  2. This album is a mature and thoughtful collection of songs and a fine memorial to her father, who would have been right to be proud.
  3. There isn't a standout single, but this is Dido's most fully realized and elegantly rendered collection.
  4. It's taken nine years and two tries, but Dido has finally given her debut the follow-up it deserves.
  5. Q Magazine
    80
    Lucky, then she's so musically warm and, like its predecessors, Safe Trip Home takes comfort in a sound that almost masks her unrest. Almost. [Dec 2008, p.127]
  6. The emotion in these sad, subtle songs seems inherent enough, though you may still find yourself wishing she'd allowed the slightest hint of it to creep into her voice.
  7. It is an album that builds on everything she had done previously, but with a much more personal and mature touch than I ever expected from her.
  8. Dido's voice is so comforting, you almost miss the blues it conceals.
  9. The album reveals nuances and feels richer with repeated plays, even though there's no single track that demands repeat listens. For songs that are just fine, they're great.
  10. It's potentially affecting stuff, and the gentleness of the production--several songs sound as though they were recorded by candlelight--heightens the atmosphere of desolation and fragility. The problem is Dido's soft voice: it's so lacking in expressiveness that words and emotions drift by, too wan to strike home.
  11. The album might be Dido's least adventurous to date, her brand of vanilla soul going down like a warm cup of milk.
  12. 60
    Dido should let her socks go unsorted for a while; genuine sorrow sounds good on her.
  13. 50
    Dido's third solo album reveals an unyielding fear of intimacy, her mellow trip-pop (coproduced by Jon Brion) buckling underneath sadness and alienation.
  14. If you come to Safe Trip Home without expecting the big hits or a surprise collaboration with a rapper, you’ll be disappointed. If you’re a Dido faithful who’s just endured five years of hell, you’ll find she’s is still the perfect soundtrack to your life.
User Score
7.9

Generally favorable reviews- based on 53 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 42 out of 53
  2. Negative: 6 out of 53
  1. May 1, 2012
    3
    It's well produced, certainly. But it's a well produced bland and dull album. "Safe" would be an adventurous description. Dido's voiceIt's well produced, certainly. But it's a well produced bland and dull album. "Safe" would be an adventurous description. Dido's voice sounds effortless. But it also sounds emotionless and completely unengaged, too. She could be singing the instructions for a Sanyo microwave or an account of unendurable human sorrow - it would be impossible to tell the difference Full Review »
  2. Jul 23, 2011
    9
    I continue to enjoy Dido's music, which is in some ways hasn't changed over the years, but has still matured. Her voice remains gorgeous andI continue to enjoy Dido's music, which is in some ways hasn't changed over the years, but has still matured. Her voice remains gorgeous and the music is personal and lovely. Full Review »
  3. [Anonymous]
    Nov 22, 2008
    10
    Mature and so refreshingly different to the sound most artistes are going for today.