Beth Orton Still Rules

Yeah, OK–;long time no update, I know. It seems the more I try to tell myself I must post something soon, the less I ever post. Actually, I’m about halfway through trying to narrate the long drive from Seattle to Chicago in detail, but at this late date I’m starting to wonder if it’s worth even trying to follow on that.

So and but anyway, I just wanted to say I recently got my hands on The Other Side of Daybreak, last year’s remix and outtake collection from Beth Orton, and it’s lovely. Her voice is as beautiful as ever, and although some of the remix work is a bit lackluster, the lengthy workout that Four Tet gives to “Carmella” is amazing. I always found the song’s melody a bit too sing-songy in its original folky arrangement, but Kieran Hebden is no stranger to simple melody, and sets it in just the right mix of tasty beats and toy-sounding atmospheric instrumentation to keep it stimulating and uplifting for more than eleven minutes. A small masterpiece, and the best thing about this collection. I saw somewhere that Mr. Hebden is slated to produce Ms. Orton’s next album, and after this (and the Hebden-produced “Beautiful World”, another standout from OSD) I must say I’m looking forward to it.

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