Five years sounds like a long break between albums. But for Birdy, the singer and songwriter who shot to fame at just 12, taking time to stop, take stock and find out who she really is was a necessary circuit break. Though she’s now 24, she’s lived a lot of life; a Grammy nomination, relentless touring and opening the 2012 Paralympic Games (to name just a few highlights) had, she realised, got in the way of some essential growing up. Falling in love, exploring the world, all the rites of passages that the non famous among us take for granted: it was time to experience them all.