BETH ORTON

Weather Alive (Partisan)

Beth Orton’s She Cries Your Name is a track I return to over and over again, which puts her firmly into my ‘can do no wrong’ camp. Now almost 30 years old (yikes!), the song has an effortlessly breezy, summertime tone, the ghost of which can still be heard throughout Weather Alive, the first album from the English singer-songwriter in six years – and her first self-produced one. In 2022, Orton is older, wiser and, indeed, weathered. But still very much alive.

Though Weather Alive is characteristically gentle in places, Orton’s voice has become much rawer over the years, her lyrics more introspective; exacerbated by complex health struggles, perhaps. Past forays into electronica are largely pushed aside in favour of a beaten-up piano at the music’s core, with both she and her assembled collaborators injecting an off-kilter, jazzy sense of flow to the more upbeat tracks, and dreamy texture to the slower ones. Repeat listening is a must.

words HANNAH COLLINS

Weather Alive by Beth Orton