Although she's had to suffer the slings and arrows of being compared to Dido, BIRD (aka Janie Price) remains one of the sparkier outsiders on pop's block.
The release of "Slowly, Slowly", though, smacks of a certain amount of desperation to get results quicker. With hindsight never one of the more impressive moments from her intriguing debut album "The Insides", it's been remixed and given a relentlessly slick rdio edit by big gun Hugh Padgham, previously responsible for the likes of The Police, XTC and, er, Genesis.
Predictably, it's now a simmering, shimmery pop affair, with hints of early Bjork, lots of tambourines and Bird's trademark lowing cello all struggling to fight for space against the kitchen sink. It's still OK and has a decent enough hook, but does suggest that the powers that be are beginning to tire of Janie Price as merely a quiet cult item and want powerful clarity on the radio. It's to be hoped her likeable quirks aren't stampeded to oblivion in the process of shaping her for commercial rewards.
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