Beth Gibbons – ‘Lives Outgrown’ album review: a stunning and haunting debut
THE SKINNY: In the years since Portishead’s last album, Third, Beth Gibbons has collaborated with various artists, ranging from Annie Lennox to Kendrick Lamar, but only now is she getting around to releasing her debut solo studio album, Lives Outgrown. It is hardly surprising that the record is stunning, but it only further emphasises how everything Gibbons touches turns to pure gold.
Over the course of ten songs, Gibbons reflects on life now that she’s reached middle age, offering an honest and beautiful meditation on the inevitable changes and losses that come with getting older. She touches on everything from experiencing the menopause – something rarely explored in music – to watching loved ones pass away.
The singer’s recognisable voice is gorgeous as always, but she’s leaned away from the trip-hop beats that define Portishead and moved further into the realm of classical instrumentation, where strings and brass form a grandiose palette. It’s a record that is hard to ignore – deeply reflective, euphoric, melancholic and addictive.
While traces of Portishead and the sound of her 2004 album Out of Season (made in collaboration with Rustin Man) are present, Lives Outgrown completely inhabits a space of its own. The record is often haunting, evoking gloomy countryside moors and brooding traditional folk influences. It’s impossible not to get entirely swept away in this evocative world that Gibbons has meticulously crafted, where every song is rich with layers – exquisite backing vocals, astute string sections and warping and bending funnels of sound sweeping over the listener.
The album opens with ‘Tell Me Who You Are Today’, where mellow guitar makes way for deep, dark strings which create a murky and mysterious atmosphere. The song slowly creeps, gently sprawling itself outwards, instantly enticing. Other highlights include the powerful ‘Reaching Out’, which grows with intensity, swelling with bursts of brass as Gibbons’ vocals spread across the soundscape with ethereality. ‘For Sale’, with its shocks of violin, like sparks of electricity, is another unforgettable moment, as is the album closer, ’Whispering Love’, which brings the album to a fittinglu spectacular end.
For fans of: Pretending you’re in a film, even when you’re taking out the bins.
A concluding comment from Emily Brontë: “Hand me a pen – I’m ready to write my next novel.”
Lives Outgrown track-by-track:
Release Date: May 17th | Producer: Beth Gibbons, James Ford and Lee Harris | Label: Domino
‘Tell Me Who You Are Today’: If this song doesn’t make you want to walk through fields and pretend you’re in Wuthering Heights as darkness clouds the sky, I don’t know what will. [5/5]
‘Floating On A Moment’: Despite this being a single, it’s arguably one of the album’s less sublime songs, but make no mistake, it’s still a prime example of Gibbons’ genius. [4/5]
‘Burden Of Life’: Led by evocative drums, this track is gorgeously cinematic, with the string section that occurs before the final third becoming completely enrapturing. [4.5/5]
‘Lost Changes’: While the melody here isn’t as attention-capturing as other tracks, it’s still a wholly personal and special song that gets even better in the second half. [4/5]
‘Rewind’: One of the album’s heavier moments, ‘Rewind’ is gritty, demanding, and really, really good. [4.5/5]
‘Reaching Out’: Possibly the best song on the album; the drums keep a steady pace as Gibbons’ voice, almost hushed, blends with the mesmerising strings, eventually building into a feeling of triumph. [5/5]
‘Oceans’: Devastating and urgent, ‘Oceans’ wraps us up in its mystifying world. [4/5]
‘For Sale’: Easily an album highlight, this track picks up speed with some Eastern-inspired strings, which are smooth and buttery, allowing us to melt into the instrumentation. [4.5/5]
‘Beyond The Sun’: The militaristic drums that drive ‘Beyond the Sun’ are truly enthralling, and as a cacophony of instruments weaves in and out, a sense of beautiful chaos rears its head. [4/5]
‘Whispering Love’: This is one of the album’s loveliest tracks; a beautiful end. There’s calmness and reflection here, petering out quietly. [4/5]
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