Fire Within | ||||
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![]() Standard edition[a] | ||||
Studio album by | ||||
Released | 16 September 2013 | |||
Recorded | 2012–2013 | |||
Studio |
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Genre | ||||
Length | 43:43 | |||
Label | ||||
Producer | ||||
Birdy chronology | ||||
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Singles from Fire Within | ||||
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Fire Within is the second studio album by English musician Birdy, released on 16 September 2013 by 14th Floor Records 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'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]
Aggregate scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 66/100[8] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Contactmusic.com | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Daily Echo | 9/10[11] |
Digital Spy | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Hot Press | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The Independent | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Mail & Guardian | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Mojo | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
musicOMH | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
PopMatters | 7/10[18] |
Time Out London | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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]
No. | Title | Writer(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" |
| Tedder | 3:59 |
5. | "All You Never Say" |
| Jim Abbiss | 4:38 |
6. | "Strange Birds" |
|
| 3:03 |
7. | "Maybe" |
|
| 3:14 |
8. | "No Angel" |
| Abbiss | 4:03 |
9. | "All About You" |
|
| 4:37 |
10. | "Standing in the Way of the Light" |
| Smith | 4:04 |
11. | "Shine" | Van den Bogaerde | Abbiss | 4:04 |
Total length: | 43:43 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
12. | "The Same" |
| Wells | 3:29 |
13. | "Dream" |
| 1:52 | |
14. | "Older" | Van den Bogaerde | Gilbert | 3:57 |
15. | "Home" |
| Gosling | 3:36 |
Total length: | 56:37 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Skinny Love" | Justin Vernon | Gilbert | 3:23 |
2. | "Wings" |
|
| 4:12 |
3. | "Heart of Gold" | Van den Bogaerde | Costey | 3:34 |
4. | "Light Me Up" (US version) |
|
| 3:59 |
5. | "Words as Weapons" (US version) |
| Tedder | 3:41 |
6. | "All You Never Say" (US version) |
|
| 4:28 |
7. | "Strange Birds" |
| Abbiss | 3:03 |
8. | "Maybe" |
| Abbiss | 3:14 |
9. | "No Angel" |
| Abbiss | 4:03 |
10. | "All About You" |
| Abbiss | 4:37 |
11. | "Standing in the Way of the Light" |
| Smith | 4:04 |
12. | "Shine" | Van den Bogaerde | Abbiss | 4:04 |
13. | "People Help the People" | Simon Aldred | James Ford | 4:16 |
Total length: | 50:38 |
Weekly charts[edit]
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Year-end charts[edit]
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Region | Certification | Certified 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)[64] | Gold | 103,786[63] |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |