Beth Orton – Comfort Of Strangers


Beth Orton has been around for nearly twenty years and has produced a couple of brilliant albums in that time but is still perhaps best known for her contributions to the first two Chemical Brothers albums. Her solo work has probably been unfairly overlooked; maybe because female singer songwriters don’t get as much credit as their male counterparts or maybe because she’s never produced a great album from start to finish. Her first two albums Trailer Park and Central Reservation have some brilliant moments but also a little bit of electronic noodling that sounds dated now. Her third album Daybreaker tried to embrace a contemporary American alt-country sound but just ended up dull and forgettable. This, her fourth album strips things back to basics and features fourteen simple songs with mostly just bass, drums, guitar and piano as backing. The simplicity highlights her nice melodies and heartfelt lyrics and goes someway to banishing the over produced ghost of Daybreaker. Opening track Worms comes across like a tight Fiona Apple number with its simple piano, bass and drums and a slight jazz feel. Other highlights include the poignant Shadow Of A Doubt and the contradictory Shopping Trolley both euphoric and world-weary. While her first two albums are probably better this is more consistent and a good place to start…8/10