English Musician Beth Orton Releases "Weather Alive" Album

 You may not know the name Beth Orton as a musician, but you definitely know her music. Orton's music has been featured in Felicity, How to Deal, Charmed, Dawson's Creek, Roswell, Vanilla Sky, Grey's Anatomy, and Manifest.

Orton just released her first album in six years, called Weather Alive, and it's a sonic winner. Orton is known for her folktronica sound, which, of course, blends folk music and electronic sounds. 

Orton's UK/US first solo album, Trailer Park, received critical acclaim in 1996, and she developed a devoted audience with the release of the BRIT Award-winning album Central Reservation (1999) and the 2002 UK top 10 album, Daybreaker. 

Her 2006 album, Comfort of Strangers, was followed by a break during which Orton gave birth to her daughter and collaborated with the British guitarist Bert Jansch. Orton returned with Sugaring Season in 2012, which moved towards a purer acoustic sound, followed by a return to electronic music with Kidsticks, released in 2016. 

Prior to the full album release, Orton shared four tracks from Weather Alive and the reviews were overwhelmingly positive.  The New York Times hailed her “modal vocal phrases and marveling” stories, while Pitchfork named lead single “Weather Alive” a Best New Track calling it “a slow-burning tour de force,” and MOJO added in their four-star review that the album “Nestles somewhere between Talk Talk’s final years and Bill Fay’s late beauties, between Alice Coltrane’s intimate hymns and Fiona Apple’s softest moments...the musical richness only mirrors Orton’s astounding writing.”

Orton was featured in a New York Times article, where she talks about how working at the piano informed the album and in a new feature at Pitchfork the singer/songwriter talks about the music that made her including Alice Coltrane, Terry Callier, Cleo Sol and more.

Last Friday, Orton performed songs from Weather Alive on WXPN’s World Cafe.

 

I am not a music reviewer, but of the eight songs on Weather Alive, my favorite was Fractals. While Orton is unique, her voice has a Dylanesque quality to it that can hypnotize, and her instrumental sound doesn't try to overpower the listener, but instead delights with subtle sonic harmonies that meander and constantly surpirse.

On November 1st, Orton will embark on her fist US headlining tour in over five years following her return to live shows on an arena stint with Alanis Morisette this Spring. She will also play a handful of UK and EU festivals before a headline UK tour through October including a KOKO Camden show on October 9th. See the full list of tour dates below and here: https://bethortonofficial.com/tour

 

photo by Eliot Lee Hazel