Across eight stunning chiaroscuro pieces, the British singer-songwriter commands attention and captivates with a purity of expression.
Shot with equipment and techniques from the Victorian era, the cover imagined by Polish photographer Kasia Wozniak makes us see double: on the left, a blurred, ghostlike profile contemplates its clearly defined twin, Beth Orton, who faces us, as serene and mysterious as an ancient oracle.
Barefoot, wrapped in a long, gauzy white fabric, the British singer seems to materialize before our eyes in real time, and that is precisely the impression conveyed by the eight flowing tracks of her new album, which begin calmly as sketches, the skeletal outlines of songs, and gradually gather elegant orchestrations to reveal their emotional power.
An incredibly sun-drenched conclusion
In the intimate, impressionistic vein of Weather Alive, her 2022 album where she finally asserted herself as a producer and director, The Ground Above can be heard as an odyssey from shadow to light.
Opening with the title track, unveiled in a high-intensity preview at the end of March, it interweaves weightless keyboards, touches of electronica, softly jazzy drums, and bursts of vocal lines sparked into life that upset the ambient delicacy. A voice that sometimes clashes with the surrounding calm, which itself evolves across the album to culminate in an incredibly sun-drenched conclusion, Otherside, carried by the singer’s timbre, now supple and warm, free from its anxieties, daring to express itself in full-throated, gospel-like flourishes.
Between these two totems, Beth Orton does not disappoint for a moment, from the chic soul of Cigarette Curls (which would pair wonderfully with Cat Power) to the meditative melancholy of I’ll Miss You. For the occasion, she surrounded herself with a fine team of musicians, notably multi-instrumentalist Shahzad Ismaily (collaborator of Bonnie “Prince” Billy, Feist…), the drummer Tom Skinner (member of The Smile) and Londoner Sam Beste, alias The Vernon Spring, who came along as friends to give body to her vision. Often underrated because of her discreet nature, Beth Orton offers new evidence of the strength of her songwriting on this ninth album, both pared-back and generous, airy and embodied.
The Ground Above (Partisan Records/PIAS). Release on June 26.
