STILL ON MY MIND

Reinvigorated and confident, Dido returns from a six-year absence with her sparkling fifth album, Still on My Mind. Following 2013's neon-washed Girl Who Got Away, this set features her liveliest, catchiest production since early-era breakthroughs No Angel and Life for Rent, and soundtracks familiar themes of love, loss, desire, and -- as the mother of a young son -- family. Anchored by her yearning and ever-ethereal vocals, the LP delivers on the promising glimmers that were teased on its cool (but ultimately sedate) predecessor, successfully synthesizing the spirit of her early hybrid sound with updated late-2010s sheen. Yet another collaboration with her brother Rollo, Still on My Mind finds the English singer/songwriter in a mature, controlled space -- an elegant but fresh collection of her familiar electro-folk with a hip-hop heartbeat. Strumming to life with the expansive beauty "Hurricanes," Still on My Mind offers moody callbacks to the early 2000s with emotive highlights "Some Kind of Love," "Give You Up," and the title track, which builds to a shiver-inducing beat drop. Lively electro-pop entries "You Don't Need a God," "Mad Love," and "Friends" bubble to life, while the hard-hitting "Hell After This" echoes Depeche Mode synth pop and the glittery "Take You Home" pulses with disco glory. Dido even takes subtle cues from Enya, putting her spin on new age grace with the plaintive "Walking By" and the triumphant "Chances." Two decades after her debut, Still on My Mind stands impressively strong, a late-era peak that is refreshing in its fearlessness and comforting with a familiarity that doesn't rest too heavily upon the past. Considering the long gap between albums, Still on My Mind is more than worth the wait. ~ Neil Z. Yeung