Safe Trip Home, the third album from practically forgotten artist Dido, does not quite justify the three years she has been spending on the album. Dido’s first album, No Angel, went seven times platinum in the UK and four times platinum in the US. Her second album, Life for Rent, which she released four years later in 2003, went nine times platinum in the UK and two times platinum in the US. With such a lofty beginning in the music industry, much was expected from this album.

The problem, I feel, with this album is that she offers nothing new. She, like many artists, has fallen into a somewhat stagnated, formulaic method of making an album that leaves many listeners bored and looking for more. Achieving the balance between new and old is an important goal for artists fighting to stay big in the music scene.

While her sound is very much the same as her past albums, what Dido does achieve in this album is a little more depth in her lyrics. While almost all of the tracks focus on the struggles of love and relationships, just like her past albums, songs like Let’s Do the Things We Normally Do achieve much more depth. However, for most people, the almost monotonous slow beat and airy voice will scare off new listeners before they even get that far.

It will be interesting to see if this album goes platinum at all, never mind nine times. But then again, Britney Spears’ Blackout went platinum only a year ago.

Dido’s Safe Trip Home will be released on November 18, 2008 in the US.