• Rating:
Beth Gibbons, with Portishead now on standby for years, released this album in 2002, along with Rustin' Man. It is a record far removed from trip-hop, from slowed hip hop rhythms, from disillusionments and pains, yet it remains very captivating, starting with the opening "Mysteries", an acoustic gem, a noble dark ballad, not coincidentally chosen as the first single: a piece of absolute beauty that aims for the rarity and sparseness of sounds: just an acoustic guitar about to perform an irresistible melody, Beth's voice caressing and hovering with insightful and somewhat dark emotions and a barely perceptible chorus, very much prewar '40s folk.
Still beautiful in the following "Tom The Model", the piece most inclined to trip hop, but still light years away, is enlivened by a very original rhythm and it is impossible not to listen to it twice.
The rest of the album is a kaleidoscope of jazzy pieces, with the extraordinary "Romance" standing out, a piece that, despite its title, does not sound like a love song as much as a piece that instills pain with that deep voice capable of tearing hearts, imparting pain but also admiration. A parade of more or less successful jazz pieces, from which the first two tracks and "Resolve", acoustic and short, yet certainly a great song, "Funny Time Of The Year", the pinnacle of Beth's art: a dream/nightmare where instruments chase each other in a crescendo of absolute splendor, and the less successful but creative "Rustin Man" that dangerously veers into a dreamy ambient.
An excellent album, not to be forgotten, to dream, forget worries, and enjoy a bit of art.
Loading comments slowly
