Credit: Netti Habel

Portishead’s Beth Gibbons announces solo album ‘Lives Outgrown’ and shares lead single

Wed 7 February 2024 16:19, UK

Beth Gibbons, the lead singer of Bristol trip-hop band Portishead, has finally announced the arrival of her long-awaited new solo album.

Scheduled to arrive on May 17th via Domino, Lives Outgrown was produced in a partnership between Gibbons and James Ford, known for his previous work with Arctic Monkeys and Depeche Mode. The album comprises ten new tracks recorded meticulously over the past decade. In a recent press statement, Gibbons delved into the album’s themes, touching on motherhood, anxiety, menopause, and mortality.

“People started dying,” Gibbons said. “When you’re young, you never know the endings, you don’t know how it’s going to pan out. You think, ‘We’re going to get beyond this. It’s going to get better.’ Some endings are hard to digest… I realized what life was like with no hope, and that was a sadness I’d never felt. Before, I had the ability to change my future, but when you’re up against your body, you can’t make it do something it doesn’t want to do.”

The album’s lead single, ‘Floating on a Moment’, reflects the overarching themes of Lives Outgrown as a whole. Accompanying the release is a captivating music video directed by Tony Oursler, known for previous work with David Bowie, which intricately weaves together scenes of nature, destruction, and, of course, Gibbons herself.

Lives Outgrown will hit the shelves on May 17th in physical formats and can also be accessed via all major streaming platforms.

Additionally, in May, Gibbons will embark on a series of European tour dates, stopping off in Paris, Berlin, London, and more.

Elsewhere, Portishead stirred rumours of a long-term reunion and fourth album in 2022 after reuniting for their first live show in seven years. The one-off show saw the band share the stage with Idles at Bristol’s O2 Academy for a War Child benefit concert.

Listen to Beth Gibbons’ ‘Floating on a Moment’ below.