The new album from Beth Orton is something to cherish. The Ground Above carries on from Weather Alive with a voice that feels like it might break down at any moment. She somehow manages to hold it all together. You’re through some of her shared pain along the way.
I really regret missing out on Beth over the past three decades or so. This is her ninth album. All those cliches of being the Comedown Wueen somehow passed me by. Truth be told and I never really came down during those tired and emotional days of living the party lifestyle.
The vocals on The Ground Above are so weathered. There’s some fine jazz musicianship on this album, but it’s the voice that breaks through and remains front of centre.
Somehow Beth Orton has managed to emerge as one of those unique and celebrated British female voices. Sure she’s never going to trouble the charts. This is non-commercial music that is still being allowed to be released and managed by the mainstream.
We should cherish her.